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Abstract
The nonmetro share of total U.S. housing completions, declining since 1976, began to grow in 1981. Both metro and nonmetro areas, however, have seen housing completions drop by about 46 percent since 1979. Median size of new nonmetro homes increased in 1982, while new nonmetro home size decreased. The 1982 price of new nonmetro homes sold increased slightly, while prices of new metro homes declined for the first time in a decade. The proportion of housing financed by conventional sources decreased 35 percent in metro areas, but only 28 percent in nonmetro areas. FHA-insured financing and cash payments increased dramatically in both areas. Use of less conventional heating fuels and heating systems is increasing in nonmetro homes, while electricity, as a fuel source, has increased in metro homes by close to 20 percent since 1976.