The end of the Mc.Mansion as our dwellings are shrinking

The days of the McMansion are numbered according to exclusive research by The Australian.

They found that the size of Aus­tralian homes has been shrinking over the past seven years, victims of soaring costs and changing lifestyles.

The country’s homes — some of the biggest in the world — reached peak size in 2009 at an ­average of 222 sq m for newly built houses and apartments combined, according to research under­taken exclusively for The Weekend ­Australian.

But the global financial crisis ­put paid to that.

The average new home now stands at 192 sq m, making it smaller than in 2001.

And as you can see from the graphic below the average house size varies considerably from State to State.

Source: The Australian

Demographic changes, especially among Gen Y, has put Australia on a trajectory towards smaller homes with a shift in values to ‘less is more’ and spending on experiences rather than material goods.

Having said that, Australian houses are still big on a ­global scale with a new house, on ­average, having more cars and more TVs than it does children.

Source: The Australian