Indicator: HS-51 Average floor area of new dwellings
Data
Average floor area of new dwellings (sq m) Australia - 1999/00 to 2003/04
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2005 (unpublished data prepared by the ABS for SoE 2006)
Average Floor Area of New Houses in Australian Capital Cities
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Are we building on smaller blocks?, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 23 Nov 2005, http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf
/Lookup/15CDFB6CDB264658CA256F02007967BE.
| Housing Utilisation by Remoteness Area - Australia - 2001 | |
|---|---|
| Proportion of households requiring one or more extra bedrooms | |
| Major Urban | 4.4 |
| Other Urban | 3.3 |
| Bounded Locality | 5.1 |
| Rural Balance | 4.2 |
| Total | 4.2 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Canberra. Extracted from the 2001 Census of Population and Housing data
Average Household Size 1997-2001 and projection to 2011
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998, Australian Social Trends 1998, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed N/A, http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca256820
00192af2/cc39fda174fc0eaaca2569ad000402bf!OpenDocument.
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Australian Demographic Statistics June Quarter 2004, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 24 Nov 2005, http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/b06660592430724fca2568b
5007b8619/a710d1074fb9c136ca2568a90013938b!OpenDocument, p29
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Household and Family Projections Australia 2001-2026, Australian Bureau of Statistics, viewed 24 Nov 2005, http://abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/b06660592430724fca2568
b5007b8619/0aac8bfae9dd3241ca2568a90013942a!OpenDocument, p22
What the data mean
The floor area of new dwellings being built has generally increased over the period 1999/2000 to 2003/04. Over the decade since 1993/94 the floor area of new houses in the capital cities has continued to increase. In 1993-94, the average floor area of new houses built in Australian capital cities was 196 square metres. In 2002-03, the average size was 235 square metres. Data for the first three quarters of 2003-04 indicates the average size of new houses is still increasing (239 square metres).
While the floor area of new dwellings has continued to increase the average household size has continued to fall over the last three decades. The average household size which was 3.3 in 1971, fell to 2.8 in 1991 and decreased to 2.59 in 2001.
Of all households in Australia, around 4.2% of households required one or more extra bedrooms; this percentage did not vary significantly with location (as determined by remoteness area).
The living area available per person per household has increased by nearly a third over the decade since 1993/94.
Issues for which this is an indicator and why
Human Settlements — Pressures created by human settlements on the environment - Patterns of settlement
The size of newly built dwellings is an indicator of the liveability of human settlements. This indicates the amount of living space that is available for the inhabitants and will have an effect on settlement density, resource use and energy use.
Other indicators for this issue:
- HS-06 Population density patterns in major cities
- HS-30 Average size of new residential lots in capital cities
- HS-78 Housing demand
Further Information
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