Average Aussie home size hits 20-year low

According to analysis of specially commissioned data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average Australian home size reduced by 2.7 per cent to 189.8 square metres in 2016/17 (in relation to the prior comparative period).

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s stockbroking firm believes that the reason for dwellings getting smaller coincides with increased supply of, and demand for, apartments.

However, the data also indicated that the average free-standing house in Australia is still among the largest in the world.

Australian houses are larger than they have been in four years, the research revealed, with the average new house built in the same period sprawling at 233.3 square metres, 30 per cent larger than 30 years ago.

“Australians continue to build some of the biggest houses in the world,” CommSec chief economist Craig James said, “but an increasing proportion of Australians — especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane — also want smaller homes like apartments, semi-detached homes and town houses.

“Generation Y, millennial couples and small families want to live closer to work, cafes, restaurants, shopping and airports, and are giving up living space for better proximity to these desirable amenities.

“But the average house size isn’t reaching new highs, having peaked around six years ago. There are still McMansions being built, but there are fewer of them.”

The data also revealed that Victoria leads the block in house sizes, followed by Western Australia and New South Wales.

Australian house sizes are surpassed only by the United States, with the average house size there being 5 per cent larger than those in Australia.

[Related: Apartment approvals nosedive by nearly 30%]