Craig James, chief economist at CommSec said land played a key part in WA having much larger homes and apartments. “WA has large floor areas because there’s a greater availability of land," he said. "Areas like Sydney have hilly areas where it’s harder to provide housing stock. Perth has more flat land, more to spread out, and more room for free-standing houses.” WA’s free-standing houses also reflect an opposite view to the rest of Australia. While 75 per cent of homes built in WA were free-standing, only 56 per cent percent of detached or free-standing homes were built in Victoria. “In areas like Sydney and Melbourne, people are going to shrink their average house size or opt for apartments as they only have so much money for a specific house," REIWA president Damian Collins said.

Newly-built houses remain at a high in WA, despite the total average size declining. Credit:CommSec "Rising house prices but the same budget means they have to accept what they can." Median housing prices sit comfortably at a high $815,000 in Sydney and $653,000 in Melbourne, based on realestate.com.au’s July 2018 property market report. In Perth, the average median price is much lower at $470,000. Factors affecting WA’s larger home sizes Mr Collins said that there were four main factors influencing the WA market’s preference for larger floor area in houses.

Higher income levels

Lower housing costs and more land

Strong family-based demographic and migration

West Australian sentiments “We have generally fair, higher average income due to the mining sector. We’re the second highest after the ACT so people have money for big houses,” he said. Western Australia sees a spike in larger-spaced apartments and newly-built homes. Credit:CommSec

The WA Treasury reported that West Australians earned $1740 in average weekly ordinary time earnings in May 2018, just behind the ACT at $1812, the highest earner. The national average sits at $1,585. Ray White WA chief Mark Whiteman said higher wages, lower housing costs and wide land availability translated to Western Australians getting bigger homes for greater value.

“The Perth market has been very affordable for the past 18 years," he said. Craig James, chief economist at CommSec recently released a report, noting that WA had considerably larger newly-built homes than the rest of the nation. Credit:CommSec "We’ve got the biggest urban footprints of a Australian metropolitan. Mandurah to Yanchep - hills to coast, that’s one of the widest square kilometre areas of Perth and ideal for larger homes at good costs.” Perth’s house prices have remained steadily in the $450,000 to $544,000 range in the past few years, according to REIWA’s 1974-2016 chart. The city has faced similar downward swings to the eastern states, with house prices dropping by two per cent on average across suburbs. Certain suburbs like Leeming, Burswood and Cockburn Central showed major upticks of seven to 73 per cent in the year with average house prices ranging from $710,00 to $1.087 million. But these prices and Perth’s low two per cent dip remain relatively attractive to consumers, given the high $800,000 costs in Sydney and sharp seven per cent decline there.

Don Asplin, a real estate agent who has worked for nearly two decades in the southern suburbs, said migrants sought out bigger homes than where they came from. “I have friends in Hong Kong who fit an entire family-mum, dad, granddad, two sons-into 25 square meters," he said. "They come to Vic Park and see a four-by-two (home) 2 for $700,000. It’s massive for them.” “For migrants, the biggest question is how big the floor area is.” WA’s large numbers in family-oriented demographics, with nearly 61.5 percent of West Australians dwelling together, be it a couple with children or single-parent families, also meant a stronger preference for houses with larger amenities, Mr Asplin said.

“This goes hand-in-hand with West Australians’ feelings on large houses. Many families want the luxuries previous generations couldn't afford. Home entertainment, large study desks are the things required today and there’s a demand for big bedrooms.” “Our kids ... aspire to have a home that we took 25 years to get to.” Perth's real estate market is slowly turning around, with more looking for bigger-spaced houses for reasonable costs. Credit:Erin Jonasson “Many young couples I’ve met want big houses in well-known suburbs like Willetton and Riverton. The only issue is them not having the money for them, but that’s easily fixed by buying a house at $600,000, rather than $700,000 15 mins down the road.” The future of WA’s big homes

Mr Whiteman said the larger aging demographic signals a possibility for WA houses becoming smaller or being more subdivided in the future. “As we get older, we don’t need that much space," he said. "Taking two hours to mow a lawn can be a chore and many, like us, will look to downsize or move to an apartment. Granted, many will want to find reasonably sized apartments and villas so there isn’t a big size change.” Cath Hart, the Executive Director of Housing Industry Association on WA said West Australians could be leaning towards more medium density housing options in the coming years. "We’ve seen a trend towards more medium density housing options in both new and established areas. HIA expects this trend will continue in the medium term, particularly with urban infill approaches and the community’s focus on whole of living costs."