Downsizing Trend in Retreat as Big Houses Make a Comeback
Minneapolis — Sprawling single-family houses, spurned just a few years ago by buyers, are back. And they’re bigger than ever. For the first time, the average size of a new single-family home built in the United States topped 2,600 square feet in 2014. About a third of the houses built last year were larger than 3,000 square feet. “You have seen the homes just growing bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Teresa St. Amant, a Twin Cities...
Low Wages, Trade Pacts Send Auto Plants to Mexico
Detroit — Mexico has become the most attractive place in North America to build new automobile factories, a shift that has siphoned jobs from the U.S. and Canada, yet helped keep car and truck prices in check for consumers. In the past two years, eight automakers have opened or announced new plants or expansions in Mexico. Just last week, Toyota announced a new plant in Guanajuato to build the popular Corolla, work now done in Canada,...