State’s home size on the rise

QUEENSLAND has recorded the biggest increase in average floor size in the country, as new homes in most other states shrink.

The average size of new homes, including apartments, built in Australia, was 186.3sq m in 2017-18 – down 1.6 per cent on the previous financial year, according to data commissioned from the ABS by CommSec.

But Queensland is bucking the trend, recording the biggest increase in average floor size in the past financial year for new dwellings, with average house sizes up 5.8 per cent to 190.5sq m.

CommSec chief economist Craig James said the difference in Queensland was likely due to its relative affordability compared with the southern capitals.

He said the state also recorded the biggest growth in this category, with the average floor size increasing 1.8 per cent to 230.8sq m.

The national average size of a new freestanding home built in 2017-18 was also 230.8sqm, down from a peak of 247.7sq m in 2008-09.

The findings were contained in the latest CommSec Economic Insights report, which shows Queenslanders are also building bigger apartments, at 133.5sq m (up 6.4 per cent), compared with the national average of 124.8sqm (down 2.7 per cent).

“Aussies are still building some of the biggest detached (freestanding) houses in the world,” according to the Commsec report.

But the size of the average new house has stabilised over the past five years after peaking in size about six years ago.