Home sizes smallest in 20 years

CommSec chief economist Craig James said that there is a general move towards smaller sized dwellings.

“Australians continue to build some of the biggest houses in the world, but an increasing proportion of Australians — especially in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane — also want smaller homes like apartments, semi-detached homes and town houses. As a result, the average home size continues to fall — now at 20-year lows,” Mr James said.

“Despite Australia building on average some of the world’s biggest houses, we are still getting topped by our US counterparts whose houses are larger by around 5 per cent.

“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.”

Mr James added that, state by state, Victorians are building the biggest houses in Australia, ahead of Western Australia and New South Wales.

“In the past year, the average size of houses built in both South Australia and Western Australia has lifted,” the chief economist said.

“In fact, South Australia built the biggest homes in records going back 30 years. And on average, Western Australian houses built in 2016/17 were just short of record highs for the state.”