Aussies now have the biggest houses

[Hector]

...they have just overtaken the good ol' USA...

study-australians-have-the-worlds-biggest-homes: Personal Finance News from Yahoo! Finance

[Adam West]

I bet that house in Aussie land is much more affordable than it is here in the U.S. as a % of household income but that stat is nowhere to be found in the article.

I also presume that like the U.S., Australia has a much lower population to land than most other countries.

Also, I think there has been a pretty big shift in the U.S. over the past 40-50 years. Most middle class families preferred smaller homes and larger yards (I grew up in a 1,500 sq. foot rancher but on an acre of land). Most houses I see now in the same town I grew up are being built at over 3,000 sq. ft but sitting on .10 or .20 acres so the shift is bigger house, smaller yard.

I think if you looked at new construction to new construction and excluded any new buildings in congested cities of both countries (like N.Y. City and Sydney), I would be willing to venture a guess that the average U.S. home is still bigger than what is being built in Australia.

With that said, I live in Maryland which is the wealthiest state in the U.S. on a per capita basis so maybe the houses I typically see being built up around the state is not the norm for the rest of the country.

[Sowth]

Land is still ridiculously expensive here in Melbourne, the median house price is almost $500,000 at the moment I think, that's about US$460,000. It's more expensive in Sydney too. There are a lot of Legoland or McMansions (as they are known here) going up, i.e. large houses that cover a high percentage of the block. They look crap IMO. Established homes in nice areas have gone through the roof in the last 10 years.

I think it takes 35 - 40% of average household income now to service the average mortgage. Traditionally mortgage stress sets in at anything above 25% so they are way overpriced, there are lots of reasons for this that I could bore you with for the next hour or so, including capital gains tax, immigration and the "Great Aussie Dream" zzzzz...

Will

[toys2cool]

I'm happy with my 1700 Square foot home

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

Yeah housing is really expensive here...my brother in law was quite shocked when he moved here from the States.

[Mikey]

I have a friend who's married to an Australian and they lived there for a while ... She said many things are way more expensive compared to the US ... She mentioned meat as being a biggie.

[SlipperyLilSuckers]

We are so far away from everyone that they can charge whatever they like I guess.

[Meule]

Prices are ridiculous here too compared to the US. Wasn't it Buk who bought an old church with lotsa land and converted it to a home for him and his family? You try doing that here... HA, good luck with that

[Hector]

Prices are ridiculous here too compared to the US.

Depends what part of the U.S.

House prices are not the same here.

The price of a huge house in Montana for example...gets you only a cardboard box in San Francisco for example...lol.