Houses leap in size in Top End

Houses in the Northern Territory are growing as big as Top-End tales about the last big catch, while the penchant for big houses in resource-rich Western Australian and Queensland remains strong. 

The Northern Territory’s house size growth spurt is defying a national trend, with developers such as Stockland starting to build smaller houses and declaring that the era of the McMansion at an end. 

As of March 2011, the average size of a new house built in the Northern Territory has soared to over 260 square metres according to ABS statistics compiled on behalf of insurer CommSec. 

While NSW continues to build the biggest houses (269.7 square metres), house sized peaked in 2007. 

However in the space of nine months, the size of an average new house in the Northern Territory has increased by about 30 square metres to 263.5 square metres. 

Put into context, in 2002, the average size of a Northern Territory house was about 183 square metres, almost exactly the same size of new apartments being built in the region. 

A search across Realestate.com.au reveals a five-bedroom town-house measuring 1,160 square metres in Fannie Bay, Darwin, up for sale by Rick Trippe (pictured) from Knight Frank. It includes a rainforest-style garden. 

The house is currently returning weekly rent of $1,1oo and asking in excess of $1.3 million. 

The Northern Territory also builds the nation’s biggest apartments (182.9 square metres) with the next biggest being in in Western Australia at just 141 square metres. 

In Queensland the average size of a new house is 250.6 square metres (compared to 232.8 square metres ten years ago) while in Western Australia houses are marginally smaller at 244.9 square metres (compared to 229.4 square metres). 

Overall, the new data confirms that Australia is still building the largest homes in the world, but according to CommSec economists Craig James and Savanth Sebastian, the size of houses has now peaked. 

According to the ABS statistics the average floor area of new free-standing house in Australia stands at 243.6 square metres in March 2011. 

The average size across both houses and apartments in Australia 214.1 square metres compared to 206 square metres in 2002-03. 

The building of a larger number of smaller apartments over the past two years, resulting in a reduction of the average home size. 

In the nine months to March the average new apartment was 133.7 square metres, the smallest result in a decade. 

According to Stockland chief executive for residential communities Mark Hunter, the average four-bedroom home had shrunk 20% since 2007.

Hunter says smaller three-bedroom, two-bathroom homes are "the new sweet spot" in the market.

Energy, maintenance and building costs are all contributing to smaller houses becoming more fashionable.

Despite peaking, new homes in Australia are about 10% bigger than in the US and 9% bigger than in New Zealand.