8731.0 - Building Approvals, Australia, Jul 2004

ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/09/2004

Page tools: Print

Print Page Print all pages in this product

Main Features
About this Release
Are we building on smaller blocks? (Feature Article)

Feature Article - Are we buildng on smaller blocks?

INTRODUCTION

An article released in the November 2003 issue of Building Approvals, Australia (cat. no. 8731.0) highlighted the increasing size of new houses being built in Australia. This article presents data on site area, which is the size of land that new houses are being built on. It shows a growing trend of building bigger houses on smaller blocks.

SITE AREA OF NEW HOUSES

Graph 1 shows how the average site area of new houses in Australian capital cities has decreased over the last 11 years. In 1993-94, the average site area was 802m², compared to 735m² in 2003-04. The graph shows there has been a steady decrease in the site area of new houses from 1993-94 to 1999-00. Over the last four years, however, site area has been increasing.

Graph 1. Average Site Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities, Trend

Graph: Average Site Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities, Trend

Graph: Average Site Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities, Trend

FLOOR AREA OF NEW HOUSES

While the site area of new houses has decreased over the last eleven years, the floor area of new houses being built has increased. In 1993-94, the average floor area of new houses built in Australian capital cities was 196m² . In 2002-03, the average size was 235m². Graph 2 shows there has been a steady increase in the size of new houses over the last 10 years, although the average did fall in 2001-02. Data for the first three quarters of 2003-04 indicates the average size of new houses is still increasing (239m²).

Graph 2. Average Floor Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities

Graph: Average Floor Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities

GROWTH AREAS

Table 1 shows the average site area of new houses in selected growth areas around Australia. These growth areas were selected based on the number of new house approvals and the level of site area reporting.

TABLE 1. AVERAGE SITE AREA OF NEW HOUSES, Selected Growth SLA's

		1993-94	1994-95	1995-96	1996-97	1997-98	1998-99	1999-00	2000-01	2001-02	2002-03	2003-04
SLA(a)		m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2	m2

New South Wales
	Bankstown (C)	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	667	665	666	590	608	614
	Liverpool (C)	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	573	565	540	514	564	549
	Gosford (C)	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	763	719	720	728	717	743	718
Victoria
	Melton (S) - East	n.a.	716	748	718	776	656	627	570	608	618	571
	Hume (C) - Craigieburn	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	843	712	692	654	621	610	602	549
	Whittlesea (C) - South	n.a.	623	618	588	592	582	538	525	540	346	565
	Manningham (C) - West	n.a.	n.a.	1,155	977	919	663	828	778	739	773	705
	Casey (C) - Berwick	n.a.	n.a.	722	717	739	749	741	697	684	664	721
	Casey (C) - Cranbourne	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.	643	588	532	607	578	613	588	648
South Australia
	Tea Tree Gully (C) - North	596	634	626	658	656	646	604	542	545	630	735
Western Australia
	Swan (C)	n.a.	710	720	722	709	662	627	727	718	728	814
	Wanneroo (C) - North-West	666	654	639	654	677	660	613	645	613	599	588
	Cockburn (C)	725	695	640	719	639	612	606	597	622	593	604
	Melville (C)	880	826	791	780	659	591	642	594	602	557	575
	Rockingham (C)	694	681	698	845	696	705	712	746	697	685	682
Northern Territory
	Palmerston (C) Bal	n.a.	732	990	736	707	687	697	665	599	698	764

(a) Some SLA's have changed name and area over the period of analysis. The SLA names shown are current for 2003/04.

For most growth SLA's in Australia, there has been a noticeable decrease in the site area of new houses. In Bankstown, NSW, for example, the average block size of new houses has decreased from 667m² in 1998-99 to 614m² in 2003-04.

Most selected growth areas in Victoria have seen a significant decrease in the site area of new houses. In Melton - East, the average site area has decreased from 716m² in 1994-95 to 571m² in 2003-04. Similarly, the average site area of new houses in Hume - Craigieburn decreased from 843m² in 1996-97 to 549m² in 2003-04.

Some growth areas in Australia have maintained, and even increased, the site area of new houses over the last decade. In South Australia, Tea Tree Gully - North has seen an increase in site area from 596m² in 1993-94 to 735m² in 2003-04. In Western Australia, Swan has seen an increase in site area from 710m² in 1994-95 to 814m² in 2003-04. Other SLA's in Western Australia such as Wanneroo - North West, Cockburn and Melville have seen a decrease in the site area of new houses. In Melville, for example, site area has decreased from 880m² in 1993-94 to 575m² in 2003-04.

The largest growth area in the Northern Territory over the last decade has been Palmerston. The average site area of new houses in Palmerston Bal has fluctuated between a high of 990m² in 1995-96 to a low of 599m² in 2001-02.

The experience in Brisbane has been notably different to the national average for all Australian capital cities. Graph 3 shows the site area of new houses in Brisbane Statistical Division has increased over the last decade from 923m² in 1993-94 to 964m² in 2003-04. This is well above the national average of Australian capital cities (735m²).

Graph 3. Average Site Area of New Houses, Trend

Graph: Average Site Area of New Houses, Trend

Some caution should be used with this data as site area was only reported for about 50% of new house approvals in Australian capital cities, while floor area was reported for about 90% of newly completed houses. Site area and floor area data can be affected by changes in the composition of dwelling units reporting those data items.

If you have any queries about site area data, please contact Melanie Wilson on Adelaide (08) 8237 7382.