Question for Canadian HGTV lovers!

[soccerluvof4]

I am not afraid to admit I watch alot of HGTV and see alot of the shows are filmed in Canada. Its also amazing what the market is doing up there to our North.  What I am curious of is how you figure out your square footage in homes. I have heard different areas dont figure hallways etc.

The reason I ask this is when i watch the show it just amazes me how some of the house seem enormous and when the state the square footage they seem so small. For example i really like love it or list it and the other night they had a 6 bedroom house with 2 baths and it was 2,000 square feet. I just cant get my head around that. Also I am taking in consideration that TV/pictures make rooms look bigger as I have bought alot of real-estate over the years.

Another thing I noticed was the lack of garage space and large houses with one bathroom.  Is this the norm or just where these particular shows are filmed?

Like I said i was just always curious and thought i would ask. Thanks in advance.

[totoro]

Houses here (at least in my Province) only count finished square feet.  Garages and unfinished basements are not counted. 

Older houses sometimes have only one bathroom but it is no longer the norm.  In most affluent areas older houses have had second bathrooms added.  In places like Toronto the unfinished basements are often converted to finished space, a lot in the form of secondary suites.  This adds to the square footage and prices are high enough that many families need the income to pay the mortgage.  It is the same in Victoria where I live.

As far as six beds and two baths - it would be unusual to have that in 2000 square feet assuming you had a rec room and a living room.  You could have that if you did not have a rec room.

[BlueHouse]

What I am curious of is how you figure out your square footage in homes.

Sorry, not Canada, but I found this extremely interesting in DC.  For tax purposes in DC, square footage is measured from the main floor and above.  The main floor is described as the floor with the kitchen and some amount of living space.  In my home, the bottom floor has a home office/bedroom and a foyer.  These rooms are not calculated into SF for tax, but of course they are marketed for resale.  :)

[soccerluvof4]

Houses here (at least in my Province) only count finished square feet.  Garages and unfinished basements are not counted. 

Older houses sometimes have only one bathroom but it is no longer the norm.  In most affluent areas older houses have had second bathrooms added.  In places like Toronto the unfinished basements are often converted to finished space, a lot in the form of secondary suites.  This adds to the square footage and prices are high enough that many families need the income to pay the mortgage.  It is the same in Victoria where I live.

As far as six beds and two baths - it would be unusual to have that in 2000 square feet assuming you had a rec room and a living room.  You could have that if you did not have a rec room.

where i live in the midwest finished basements count as square footage as long as you have to escape routes. So if you have a staircase to up stairs say the living areas and then one to the garage that would count. Also if exposure a window thats no higher than 42" off the ground and minimum 4'. In my case I have both because you cant count a bedroom in the basement as such in less the bedroom has a window of that size. I also have stairs out to the garage from the part that is still unfinished as it more than pays for itself in the square footage and nice to drag things into the house.