Over the last decade, homebuilders have all but conceded the first-time buyer market to the resale sector. But evidence is mounting that builders are trying to get back into the game.

For one thing, they’re still building monster houses. Last year, three out of every 10 new houses were at least 3,000 square feet, and of those, 10 percent were at least 4,000 square feet, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Indeed, the average size of new houses “remains elevated,” said Rose Quint, an economist at the National Association of Home Builders. The average size of all completed single-family dwellings in 2018 was 2,588 square feet, the Census Bureau reported.

But that figure is on a downward trajectory. In 2017, the average size was 2,631 square feet.

The increase in size over the last decade, and now the small decline, are both consistent with historical norms, points out NAHB Chief Economist Robert Dietz.

“Typical new-home sizes fall prior to and during a recession, as homebuyers tighten budgets, and then rise as high-end buyers ... return to the market in relatively greater proportions,” Dietz says.

The pattern was exacerbated during the current business cycle because of the weaker market at the lower end of the price spectrum, as well as such supply-side constraints as labor shortages, more expensive building materials and a dearth of inexpensive building sites.

Builders still face some of those constraints, but the costs of many building materials -- lumber, drywall and concrete -- are heading down. And NAHB economists believe that their members will be adding more entry-level houses to their product lines.

In some cases, builders will be pruning square footage to hold down costs. But the mix is changing.

For one thing, townhouses are growing in popularity: Some 69,000 townhomes were sold last year, the most since 85,000 changed hands in 2007.

These attached single-family houses, which come in rows, are usually smaller than their stand-alone counterparts, Quint points out. They average about 2,000 square feet, and as such, says Dietz, they are the perfect jumping-off point for young buyers who want to transition from renters to homeowners. They’re particularly appealing for entry-level buyers who want more space but can’t afford those larger, detached houses, and they’re popular with builders in metro areas and older suburbs where land is scarce and expensive.

No wonder, then, that the townhouse sector is growing faster than any other. Builders started work on some 120,000 townhouses last year: a 15% jump in production over 2017.

But some builders are going smaller yet. Just outside of Denver, for example, KB Home just opened sales at Homestead Hills Villas, a community of 100 “paired” units once called duplexes. The units will share a common wall, and will range in size from roughly 1,400 to 1,900 square feet.

In Boulder, Colorado, the DTJ Design architectural firm has come up with a plan for clusters of what look like detached single-family homes that are actually connected to their neighbors by their garages. The 1,220-square-foot units can be arranged in all kinds of configurations.

Elsewhere, “micro-product” is capturing some attention, says John Hunt of MarketNsight, an Atlanta advisory firm. Hunt says that 650 people are on the mailing list for the 40 small houses in an East Point, Georgia, development. The houses will range in size from 500 to 1,000 square feet, with prices starting in the high $100,000s. And in Birmingham, Alabama, the Franklin condo conversion will have 14 units, including 500-square-foot studios staring at $159,000.

“We are beginning to see new cutting-edge for-sale product breaking onto the scene” in the 19 Southeast cities his firm serves, Hunt reports -- “product at square footages we have never seen, presented in new ways.”

As long as smaller houses are located in their preferred locations -- close to restaurants, employment centers and public transportation -- millennials are willing to pay more, says Hunt: “For many of today’s potential new-home buyers, experience and location trump square footage.”

And the prices may not be any higher than the rents they are paying now. At another Atlanta property, for instance, a mortgage on a proposed project of stacked condos would run $750 for principal and interest. Even when you add in property taxes and insurance, that’s likely much less than the $1,600 rents being paid nearby for a 560-square-foot apartment.

“Millennials are willing to live in, and potentially buy, small spaces in their target areas,” Hunt believes. And not just them: Baby boomers moving down the housing ladder will be vying for the same units, he says. “Their kids are gone, retirement is around the corner and they want to live where the action is.”

Meanwhile, lot sizes are also shrinking. About a third of all building lots last year were under a median 7,800 square feet -- the most in the last decade, the Census Bureau reported. And just 20 percent of all building sites were 22,000 feet or more -- the least since ‘09.

The average lot size for the year was 4,172 square feet, prompting Quint to note that “there are a lot of outliers out there.”

The housing market is definitely changing. Maybe not everywhere, at least not yet. But in most places, sellers are slowly losing their dominance and buyers are taking control.

The evidence is strong: Instances of multiple offers on the same property have fallen drastically, more buyers are holding out for home inspections, and more deals come with caveats about the buyers selling their current homes.

According to realty brokerage firm Redfin, just 12 percent of all offers made through the company in June faced a bidding war. That’s down from 52 percent just a year ago -- 1 in 8 versus 1 in 2!

Meanwhile, buyers are becoming more successful with contingent offers.

A year ago, according to Redfin, 20 percent of the company’s buyer-clients were willing to waive the contract contingency that allowed them to have a private home inspector go over the property from stem to stern before closing. In May, only 15 percent chose to forgo that language.

Home-sale contingencies also are on the rise. Redfin says 8.4 percent of successful offers submitted by its agents included such language in May -- down a tick from 8.5 percent in April, but double the 4.4 percent from a year ago.

These buyer-protecting contingencies are included in typical home purchase agreements. By waiving them, the buyer gives more control and assurance to the seller. An increase in keeping these contingencies is an indication that buyers are moving into the driver’s seat.

Redfin Chief Economist Daryl Fairweather’s conclusion: Sellers are now more willing to give buyers what they want because sellers don’t have as much negotiating power as they did a year ago.

Houses are still selling, of course. But it’s taking longer than it used to, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. The average number of days on the market in May was 47, which is 22 days longer than in August 2017.

Days-on-the-market is a key indicator of the strength of local conditions. And since the first of the year, it has been steadily rising. Unfortunately, some houses linger longer -- sometimes much longer -- which means sellers have to take a hard look at their listings if they are serious.

There may be other reasons your house isn’t selling: Maybe it shows poorly. Perhaps houses comparable to yours are selling for less than what you are seeking. Or you might be keeping would-be buyers at bay by limiting your showing hours.

But “99.9 percent of the time,” says California agent Thomas Nelson, “it is price, and it needs to be reduced.”

There’s no shame in lowering your price. According to Zillow, nearly 1 in 8 sellers does so. But many don’t bite the bullet quickly enough.

A survey by Shelterforce Weekly, a community development publication, found that a third of all sellers said they would wait at least 90 days, and almost another third would hold out for longer than that. But that isn’t soon enough.

Nelson said he’d pull the trigger by the third weekend, if the house has drawn no interest. Fellow California agent Michelle Carr Crowe would make a move after 30 days. And agents Mary Hutchison of Missouri and John Wiley of Florida would lower the price after just two weeks.

Data from NAR’s 2018 Profile of Buyers and Sellers reinforces these opinions. “The longer a home is on the market, the greater the discount from the listing price,” it found.

Places on the market for two weeks or less typically nailed 100 percent or more of their asking price, according to the report. Houses on the market for 17 weeks or more generally received 94 percent of their asking price.

You’ll know a price reduction is necessary if no one has come to look at your home, or if you’re getting lots of action, but no offers. Also consider a reduction if other homes like yours are priced for less, if you are receiving lots of negative feedback, or if you’re only getting offers substantially below your asking price.

There’s no rule of thumb about how much to cut your price. You should consult with your agent, consider any feedback you’ve been given, take a fresh look at the sales comps and proceed from there.

“You don’t set the sales price, the market does,” advises agent Marti Steele Kilby of California.

Whatever you do, though, make that first price reduction count. One reduction can attract buyers looking for a bargain, as long as you drop it enough to be competitive, says Massachusetts agent Bill Gassett. But more than that could be the kiss of death.

“Multiple price reductions will start to make your home undesirable,” he says. “(Reductions) will usually draw even further negative attention, leading buyers to assume there must be something seriously wrong with your home.”

According to NAR, 18 percent of sellers lower their price more than once, with a few lowering it as many as four times before accepting an offer.

Nelson says every home sells, even the dogs, if they are priced right. But experts agree: Pricing your house right in the first place is the best policy.

Many homeowners believe they can’t do without these two perks: home warranties that promise to replace appliances that cannot be repaired, and Angie’s List, the popular website that recommends contractors and repair specialists.

But both have come under fire recently by key consumer organizations, which say neither is as valuable as people think.

The Consumer Federation of America, a national organization made up of more than 250 nonprofit consumer groups, took Angie’s List to task for, among other things, “always” listing advertisers first and granting only those businesses that advertise on its site a “top rated” designation. Angie’s List “is subject to conflicts of interest because it is supported almost entirely by payments from the businesses it evaluates,” the CFA report said.

It also faulted the site for granting “A” ratings to businesses with less than five reviews -- and sometimes only one -- and not providing reliable information about which charge the lowest prices. Furthermore, it found “circumstantial evidence” of fake reviews posted by some service providers.

Meanwhile, warranties were blasted by Consumers’ Checkbook, a branch of the independent nonprofit consumer group called Center for the Study of Services. Consumers’ Checkbook publishes regional magazines in seven cities, and these publications carry no advertising and accept no referral fees from the outfits evaluated.

The group found that warranties are not worth the money, and are often rip-offs.

“These warranties are terrible deals and simply aren’t worth their price tags or hassle,” its latest report said.

Even the biggest player in the field, a spokeswoman told me, has had more than 10,000 complaints lodged against it over the last three years.

A major fault with warranties, which are actually service contracts as opposed to guarantees, is that you don’t get to decide which contractors come to your house to repair your appliance and determine whether it must be replaced. Indeed, the study found that the best repair services “overwhelmingly disdained these types of warranties” and won’t work for home warranty companies.

Case in point: air-conditioning contractors. Checkbook randomly queried 20 that received its top rating for quality, and discovered that not one participated in any warranty plan.

There are other issues, too. Contracts are loaded with numerous “fine-print gotchas” that could be used to deny your claim, the report warned. Also, you’ll be responsible for paying a fee for the repair technician’s initial visit. Replacement appliances could be limited to certain brands, colors and manufacturers. And you could be strung out for months before a decision is made about whether an appliance will be replaced.

In my own personal experience, my warranty company waited almost six months to rule that my double oven could not be salvaged, even though the repairman who tried three times to fix it had said so three months earlier. And then, if I wanted the company to cover the replacement cost, I was required to buy the new one from a certain store that is nearly bankrupt, and from a limited list of options that did not include the original brand.

Checkbook says it finds no fault with warranties offered by builders of new homes. But if you are buying an existing house on which the seller offers a one-year warranty, you’re better off asking the seller to give you a credit at closing for the warranty’s price.

As for Angie’s List, rather than rely solely on the site, CFA says you need to do some extra legwork on your own. Don’t take the site’s recommendations at face value, it suggests. Look beyond those, and read reviews posted only on A-rated businesses with at least 25 recent testimonials, paying close attention to comments and negative reviews. The site “can provide value to those who utilize the website appropriately,” the report says.

It also says the site shouldn’t be the only source you use to select a service provider. Consumers should rely on nonprofit groups that evaluate local business and are not funded by the companies they study, says lead author Stephen Brobeck, a CFA senior fellow and its former executive director.

It might be better to ask others directly about their experiences. And try searching the web by a company’s name paired with such terms as “consumer complaints,” “bad service,” “rip-offs” or “sucks.”

CFA chose to assess Angie’s List as its first investigation into online review services “because of its longstanding popularity and reputation.” Founded in 1995, Angie’s List is visited by more than 20 million people a year to access information from some 10 million individual ratings and consumer comments.

The site stopped charging an annual subscription fee in 2016, and is now funded almost entirely by advertising, referral fees and payments from the companies it evaluates. Also in 2016, it became part of a holding company that includes HomeAdvisor, a similar service that connects homeowners with local service providers, including home improvement and remodeling contractors. But the two remain separate for now.

“Angie’s List looks as if it is becoming HomeAdvisor, but it is not there yet,” Brobeck told me in an email. “Both aggressively push advertisers, but AL continues to maintain a huge database of customer comments on individual businesses. There may be other differences as well, but we haven’t studied HA closely enough to be sure.”