Does a bigger home = happiness? Maybe not.

Don’t let keeping up with the Joneses keep you from living your best life.

This morning, while drinking my coffee and avoiding my inbox for just a few extra minutes, I read a Washington Post article that immediately made me stop and think. The headline explored the idea that smaller houses just might make us happier, and the tagline really stuck with me:

“It turns out asking ‘Are you happy with your home?’ often yields a very different answer than ‘Are you happy with your life?’”

WOW. That one lands.

The article dug into research showing that bigger homes don’t necessarily translate into greater happiness. In fact, they can sometimes do the opposite. Larger homes often mean higher costs, more maintenance, more cleaning, and—perhaps most importantly—more pressure to keep up. What many people actually reported valuing most wasn’t square footage, but how their home supported their day-to-day lives: ease, comfort, connection, and proximity to the things that mattered to them.

It reminded me of a piece of advice a wise agent shared with me when I was first starting out in real estate. He said he always begins buyer conversations with one simple question:
“What brings you joy in your downtime?”

Not “How much square footage do you want?”
Not “What’s your maximum budget?”

Joy.

Do you love walking trails? Popping into local shops? Meeting friends for coffee? Gardening? Paddleboarding? Being able to walk to dinner on a whim? He used those answers as a compass to help clients land not just in the right house, but in the place where they’d actually be happiest living their lives.

Somewhere along the way, many buyers begin to prioritize commute above almost everything else. And yes, commuting matters. But here’s the thing: most of us will always drive to work. A slightly longer commute is often manageable.

What’s harder? If everything you love to do is a long drive away.

If the gym you enjoy, the trails you love, the friends you see, or the activities that fuel you are inconvenient or far removed, will you really do them as often? Or at all?

Housing happiness isn’t about maximizing square footage or checking every box on a list. It’s about alignment. When your home supports the way you actually want to live, not just the way you think you should live, everything feels a little lighter.

So if you’re thinking about buying (or even just dreaming), try asking yourself the better question first:
What makes me happy in my life—and does my home make that easier or harder?

The answer might surprise you.