The bad news for home sellers keeps coming. According to CNNMoney.com, more homeowners than ever are selling their homes for a loss. This means one thing: The real estate slump is far from being over.

According to CNN, in the 12 months that ended June 30 of this year, nearly 25 percent of homes sold across the country sold for less than the sellers originally paid for the house. This, of course, is a disastrous transaction for sellers, probably only made under duress. The sellers had to sell now, and had no other options.

It’s a far cry from the real estate boom of 2001 - 2006, when sellers made astronomical profits often without even having stayed in their homes for five years.

The new real estate market is one that stresses patience: If you hope to make a large profit on your current home, be prepared to stay in it for five, seven or 10 years, at least. The days of looking at homes as giant piggybanks are over.

For years, the size of the average U.S. house has grown. But a story by Stephen Gandel on CNNMoney.com, which you can read here, says that a combination of rising fuel costs, an aging population and a growing environmental movement may result in the opposite: Our average homes may soon be getting smaller.

According to the story, the average house checked in at slightly more than 1,600 square feet in the late 1970s. That has risen to nearly 2,300 square feet today.

The CNNMoney.com story, though, posts several reasons why this may change. Baby Boomers are getting older. Their children are moving out on their own, so they don’t need as much living space. Rising fuel costs may encourage smaller homes; It takes a lot of fuel to heat those king-sized mansions.

And don’t discount the movement toward green, environmentally-friendly building. It’s hard to call a home “green” when it covers 3,000 or more square feet of living space, no matter how many energy-efficient appliances it boasts.

Personally, I find the movement toward small homes refreshing. My family and I — which just this week grew by one member, by the way — are quite happy living in a small house, one that includes about 2,100 square feet. There are only four of us, plus one dog. We have more than enough space.

What about you? Do you live in a large home? If so, are there rooms you rarely, if ever, use? If you live in a small home, do you want more living space? Could you use that extra bedroom or den? Or are you satisifed with the size of your house? Let me know. I’d be happy to hear from you.

Has your home lost value in the past year? If national reports about the slumping residential real estate market are true, then your home’s value probably has dropped. But the odds are good that you don’t think it has.

Chris Isidore, senior writer with CNNMoney.com, wrote an interesting story, which you can read here, about an online survey showing that three out of four U.S. homeowners believe that their own home has not lost value in the last year.

It’s like how people say they hate Congress, but love their own Senators and Representatives.

The story reports that of the 1,619 homeowners surveyed, 36 percent said they thought the value of their homes increased in value during the past year, while 41 percent said its value remained the same. Only 23 percent said their home lost value.

No wonder real estate agents have such a hard time convincing sellers to put their homes on the market for a reasonable price. The real estate market has changed, and homes are not selling for as much this year as they did just two years ago.

Unfortunately, it looks like, yes, homeowners are in denial about this depressing fact.