When bigger isn’t better: do Australian houses need to be the largest in the world?

At 240 square metres, the average new house built in Australia is among the largest on the planet - and it’s only getting bigger.

But with around 10 million empty bedrooms across the country, and the average person spending just seven or eight hours at home each day, is it time to rethink our approach to housing size?

Cultural reasons lie behind Australia’s love of McMansions, and it has been in our psyche for decades.

Back in the 1950s – an era when the average Australian house was under 100 square metres – the Housing Commission aimed to create homes that were “a bit bigger, a bit better, a bit more modern”.

As Dr Macgregor puts it: “It gave us this idea that bigger is better, that the house says something about you as a person.”

The average Australian spends $1,000 per square metre to build their new home – but is it worth it?

“You will pay an awful lot of money for those extra 50 square metres,” Dr Macgregor says.

He uses the example of a 200-square-metre house and a 250-square-metre house. The 250-square-metre house will cost $50,000 more to buy and another $2,000 a year in council rates, energy and maintenance.

“That’s a lot to pay for a bit of floor space that you don’t really use,” Dr Macgregor says.

• The average size of a new house built in Australia is 240 square metres.
• This is among the largest in the world.
• The average person spends just seven or eight hours at home each day.
• There are around 10 million empty bedrooms across the country.
• The average Australian spends $1,000 per square metre to build their new home.
• A 250-square-metre house will cost $50,000 more to buy and another $2,000 a year in council rates, energy and maintenance than a 200-square-metre house.