HOUSING crisis? What housing crisis? Australians are living large in houses too big for them in greater numbers than ever before.
A new Australian Bureau of Statistics analysis of census data shows 41 per cent of all occupied private homes in 2006 had two or more bedrooms than were needed, up from 34 per cent a decade earlier.
Another 36 per cent had one extra bedroom above international standards for minimum household requirements.
“This trend has implications for the ongoing sustainability of residential development in Australia,’’ the ABS report said.
``Declining household size accelerates the demand for new housing development, while growth in excess bedrooms indicates less efficient use of housing, (and) both of these factors increase the demand for resources and energy.’’
Canberra is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into expand Australia’s housing stock, offering tax breaks to developers to build affordable housing and funding to lower development costs.
But rising expectations, as well as the growth in empty nesters, could erode the capacity of new programs to house more people.
The average floor area of new homes has grown by almost a third in the 20 years to 2006-07, despite a shrinking in average household size over the same period.
