New figures released by the Building Commission show Victoria leading the country in the trend of increasing house sizes.
Victorian house sizes increased by 16.3 per cent over the decade to 2008-09, compared with the national average increase of nine per cent.
The growth was attributed to demand for more bedrooms, family rooms and bathrooms, with a report from the Age newspaper suggesting the trend to downsize by empty nesters is overstated. The report noted that houses in Victoria in 2008-09 were 252 sqm on average compared with 217 sqm in 2000-01.
However Victoria is still behind the average house size in New South Wales at 269.5 sqm, and Queensland at 253.7 sqm.
Houses in the Northern Territory are growing houses sizes are growing fastest across the country, followed by Victoria.
The national average size is now 248 sqm.
Graph image: The Age