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First Home Developer

October 3, 2012

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Profile America -- Wednesday, October 3rd. The way Americans buy a home changed forever this week in 1947. That's when one of the first communities built by a real estate developer opened for residents to move into -- Levittown, on New York's Long Island. Named for William and Alfred Levitt, the town ultimately contained more than 17,000 Cape Cod and ranch houses, snapped up by servicemen returning from World War II and facing an acute housing shortage. The houses in Levittown had 800 square feet of floor space and sold for under $8,000. Now, the average new home in America has 1,800 square feet of living space and sells for $185,500. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at <www.census.gov>.

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 481
Levittown Historical Society
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 990, 996
http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012edition.html