[quote=paramount]I really like 3-stories, and I feel safer sleeping on the 2nd floor.

I think the best of both worlds would be to have a 2-story that has at least 1 bedroom and full bath on the 1st floor.[/quote]

I concur. Nothing bad has ever happened and I’ve had all three types (1 story, 2 story all br’s upstairs and 2 story, 1 br/full ba downstairs). The third is my favorite comprimise, I just sleep better, especially with my windows open, if I’m on the second floor. If someone breaks a leg, they can use the downstairs bedroom for a few weeks. If I need to move a relative in that is elderly, that works well too. It also been easy to train the dogs that they are not allowed upstairs, they are old anyways and dont like going up them.

Single stories are the most marketable but most tract homes have a few models, usually the single story is the smallest because it uses up more land. My neighborhood has 2000 sq ft single stories that are very nice, but they only get a 2 car garage as is often the case elsewhere. If they designed them differently I’d lean towards them more, my buddy has a sweet 2500 sq ft home with 4 garages, broken into two-2car buildings on different sides of the house and it’s all a one story, but his was a semi-custom on a big lot, those are hard to find or cost a bundle.