Which country in the world has the largest homes by floor area in 2026?
The average size of Australian homes has expanded so much that at 213.96 square metres, we now have the largest average floor area for a home of any country in the world! The USA comes a close second at 213.58 square metres. Then comes New Zealand at 202 square metres, Canada at 181 square metres, and Luxembourg at 140 square metres. The list goes on with Italy at 81 square metres and Sweden at just 42 square metres. The average Australian house is over five times the size of the average Swedish home, with Sweden ranking 2nd in Quality of Life Ranking and Australia ranking 6th!
Building a home in Australia is an extremely costly undertaking and has become more and more out of reach for many Australians. Part of the problem is the size of homes available in the market and the expectation of many to have massive homes that are way beyond actual need. The average Swede thinks 42 square metres is just fine, while we here in Australia want and expect over 200 square metres.
The cost of building a home in Australia has increased by 410% over the last 20 years, while average wages in Australia have grown only by 100%. With the average Project Home in Australia costing between $2,000 - $3,500 per square metre to build, a 160 square metre home costs around $450,000, and a 220 square metre home costs around $600,000.
The bigger the house, the more square metres, the higher the cost, but bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better or better value. Few builders in Australia offer homes with two or three bedrooms and one bathroom. With an average family of 2.5 people, why do we need three, four, or five bedrooms + Games Room + Theatre Room and a big room for our cars as well? These large homes often take up the vast majority of the block of land with small hot, under ventilated and overshadowed courtyards with little privacy or room for landscaping and trees. The costs of maintaining, cleaning, heating, and cooling these huge homes are considerably more than a smaller, well-designed home.
A more compact well-designed, space-efficient house with better thermal performance, access to daylight, and cross-ventilation will be a smarter choice and much better value when working within a limited budget. Rather than following the mass preference for very large houses that we cannot afford, maybe it’s time to start thinking of our homes as places of value, comfort and security that adequately satisfy our needs and enhance our wellbeing for now and into the future.
At Mike Edwards Architecture we can design big beautiful luxury homes but we can also design beautiful, efficient, compact homes to suit a more modest budget.
Contact us at studio@mikeedwardsarchitecture.com.au or call 1800 832 770 to discuss how we can help you achieve your goal.