Australia's new homes are the biggest in the world but the ACT, with the largest per capita income, is building on average the smallest new homes.
Research commissioned by the online broking arm of the Commonwealth Bank, CommSec, indicates Australia outstripped the United States in the 2008-09 financial year for the world's largest new dwellings.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed the average floor area of all new Australian dwellings in 2008-09 achieved a record of 214.6sq m. The ACT was well below the average at 164.9sq m.
It seems a big contributor to the smaller new ACT dwellings was the high proportion of units and apartments. There were 1220 free-standing dwellings built in the ACT in 2008-09, and 1174 other dwellings, which include units, apartments and town houses.
The free-standing dwellings built in the ACT, with an average floor space of 239.4sq m, were very close to the record national average of 245.3sq m. In line with this growth, the number of residents per Australian household increased during the 2007-08 financial year the first such increase for at least 100 years. The growth, albeit small, was from 2.51 to 2.56 residents per household. CommSec estimates it increased again last financial year.
CommSec chief economist Craig James said if the number of residents per household had remained unchanged, 166,000 extra dwellings would have been needed in the 2007-08 year. ''If the size of the average household continues to rise, there will be reduced demand for new houses and apartments.''
It was questionable whether the size of Australian dwellings could, or should, continue to increase.
''Generation Y is already baulking at the cost of housing, choosing to stay at home longer with parents.''
At face value, the increase in household size might not seem remarkable, but it appeared to be the first increase in at least 100 years and perhaps the first since European settlement.
''It makes sense population is rising, as is the cost of housing and the cost of moving house, so we are making greater use of what we have. Children are living at home longer with parents and more people are opting for shared accommodation.''
The key question was whether the trend to better utilisation of existing dwellings was temporary.
Mr James said it was commonly believed not enough dwellings were being built to accommodate Australia's increasing population.
''In fact, industry bodies believe that we are under-building by 50,000 homes a year. But the figures on home size and housing utilisation raise doubts about the extent of under-building in Australia.''
The average floor area in Australia of new houses, villas, townhouses and apartments built in 2008-09 was a record 214.6sq m. The average floor area increased by 2 per cent in the past five years and by 10 per cent over the past 10 years.
Australia's largest dwellings were built in Victoria with an average 224.5sq m floor area.
Mr James said NSW was in fifth place for home size at 204.9sq m, largely because of its higher proportion of apartments to free-standing houses.
Since the first census in 1911, the number of residents per dwelling has consistently fallen. In 1911 there was an average of 4.5 people in every home. By 2006 this had fallen to 2.4. ''Not only have more homes been built over time but other factors like fewer children and divorces have resulted in smaller families,'' Mr James said.
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