The Shape We’re In: ‘The Aussie dream’ of a big house alive and well

Affordability and urban sprawl are making a big house with a big yard more elusive than ever.

Toby Turner and Eunice Suisuan Lim with daughter Emilia have settled on an apartment — for now. Picture: Richard Whitfield

While some homebuyers still chase “the great Australian dream” of a big house on a big block at a fair price, affordability and urban sprawl are making this more ­elusive than ever.

The Australian has been tracking the evolution of the backyard, challenged by shrinking home lot size, the cost advantages of high-rise living and planning initiatives that overshadow the traditional 1000sq m block.

But has the aspiration for a quarter-acre of land in the suburbs really changed?

Numbers don’t lie. Search data provided to The Australian by online classifieds site realestate.com.au show that many Australians are still clinging to the dream. The most popular search on the site between 2016 and 2018 was the same — four bedrooms, two bathrooms and two garage spaces. People were also after lots of 665sq m or more.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Consibee said homeowners remain aspirational, with census data showing the average home boasted three bedrooms. But constraints also go further, with rapidly rising prices threatening to make it harder for people to enter the market and upgrade to a new home.

“This isn’t necessarily what people will end up buying and this is more what people are mainly wanting. So, I guess that’s kind of the difference between the reality of what people want and can afford to buy,” Ms Conisbee said.

South Brisbane couple Toby Turner, 34, and Eunice Lim, 33, have settled on buying an apartment — for the time being. The convenience of short work commutes and inner-city cafe lifestyle make up for the lack of space for baby Emilia, 10 months.

“I think we will move out further if we have more children when we will probably need that additional space, which only comes in the suburbs,” Mr Turner said. “But that’s probably several years away for us.”

It is a different story for John and Tiffany Scoon, both 42, who have been renting their Manly Vale apartment on Sydney’s northern beaches, for the past 11 years. The neighbouring park and local soccer fields have been their escape as they raise their two boys JD, 13, and Joseph, 11, in the two-bedroom home. Affordability in their area has always been their biggest hurdle.

“Our decision has always been about money,” Mr Scoon said. “We’ve looked into buying. We could move away out west and get a bigger lot tomorrow but we don’t want to leave the beaches.’’

One option is for young homebuyers to mimic their baby boomer parents and move to the urban fringe or the regions. Ms Conisbee said satellite cities such as Newcastle and Wollongong in NSW and the Victorian centres of Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong have become more popular with first-time buyers looking to get more for their dollar in the rising ­market.