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CNBC has done a great article on how "McMansions" are a thing of the past.  These homes are defined as homes over 3,000 square feet and are built very near to each other.  Last year 9 out 10 home builders said they would be building smaller homes or lower priced homes in the future.  But this article sums it up best with this information "For a little historical context, 1,200 square feet was the average home size in America in the 1960s. That grew to 1,710 square feet in the 1980s and 2,330 square feet in the 2000s.". As the economy becomes harder, jobs are disappearing, and many people are underwater with their mortgage, comes many homebuyers deciding to buy less home. 

So now what happens to McMansions.  Do they turn into a neighborhood of slums, per Christopher Leinberger's article.  Do they get turned into homes/offices?  " Luckily, people are starting to get creative: A film collective in Seattle has taken over a 10,000-square foot McMansion there, using it for both living and work space. They turned a wine closet into an editing room and tossed a green screen in the garage. And in a suburb of San Diego, one couple turned a former McMansion into a home for autistic adults."

I can also say from my experience on a Home Owners Association Board (of a large(size) home development with acreage lots) I was taught one thing on this topic.  McMansions can also cause drainage issues.  With the homes taking up more of the lots, getting the drainage to handle all this was a problem.  Before this craze, the homes were still large but on larger lots.  The drainage system that was built was prepared for this.  But as the homes stayed the same sizes(roughly) and the lots became smaller or over built on, drainage  became a problem.   

Our society is learning, more is not always better.  And as we start to get out of the tough recession, I would think we will see smaller homes being built.