Determining the Square Footage of a Home

     Buyers and sellers are often confused about which area is included for calculating a home’s square footage. Does the measurement of square footage include the covered porch? What about basement and garage? When reporting the square footage of a home, only the space of finished living area in the dwelling should be included. A space is considered a living area if it meets all of the following criteria.

• Is intended for human occupancy.
• Is heated by a conventional, permanent heating system. (Any space that is heated by a portable heater does not count.)
• Finished, with walls, floors and ceilings of materials generally accepted for interior construction.  
• Directly accessible from other finished area. (Any part of a house that requires the use of a ladder to get to it does not count.)
  
  

     Based on these guidelines, any room in the house that is not finished, such as basement, crawlspace, or attic, should not be included for calculating square footage. Porches may only be included if they are enclosed and heated using the same system as the rest of house. Garages should never be included when reporting the square footage of a home.

     According to ANSI (American National Standards Institute), any part of the house that is below ground level should not be included in the calculation of square footage under any circumstances. However, due to some mixed reporting in the real estate business, buyers should always check with the sellers to make sure which area is included in the information concerning square footage. Buyers may also ask their brokers to pull information which breaks down the square footage on each floor so that they will have a clearer understand of how much space on each floor they are buying.