Hi Richard,

I tried with Westpac, first was told yes, they would allow me to do a wrap and then later told me no. I tried St George next and they had no issue with it, so I used them instead. This was around middle of 09.

Yes but it is made up for with better FHOG. At the peak you could get grants of up to $32k in Victoria to compensate for the stamp duty.

Not sure about the CBA but I work for another major that offers their employees 90% loans with no LMI. This is likely to save you alot of money if you can access a similar deal.

You seem to be confusing house size with land area. House size is increasing.

Here is the article I was referring to.

The real problem that is causing this is the price of land, If you have to pay 400k for a 600 sqm block on the outskirts of Sydney, you might as well build a 300-400 sqm home for 300k, rather than a 150-200 sqm home for 150k. The difference between 550k and 700k is minimal for twice the living space.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/home-truths-australia-trumps-us-when-it-comes-to-mcmansions-20091129-jyva.html

AUSTRALIANS are piling on sitting rooms, family rooms, studies and extra bedrooms at the fastest rate in the world, with the size of our homes overtaking those in the US as the world’s biggest.

The typical size of a new Australian home hit 215 square metres in the past financial year, up 10 per cent in a decade, according to Bureau of Statistics data compiled for Commonwealth Securities.

US figures show the size of new American homes shrinking from 212 square metres before the financial crisis to 202 square metres in September.

New homes in other parts of the world are far smaller, with Denmark the biggest in Europe at 137 square metres and Britain the smallest at 76 square metres.

The figures lend weight to a claim by the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank, Ric Battellino, this month that Australian house prices are high in part because Australian houses are better.

The Reserve is due to meet tomorrow to decide whether to increase interest rates. Almost half of the $250 billion spent on housing each year was on alterations and additions, with one in every seven new houses ”simply replacing existing houses that have been demolished”.

Mr Battellino said Australians had so many holiday houses that the latest census found 8 per cent more dwellings than households.

Sydney houses are by far the nation’s biggest with new free-standing houses typically spanning 263 square metres – providing more than 100 square metres of indoor space per person.

But the high proportion of townhouses and apartments in Sydney pushes the average dwelling size down to 205 square metres, just below the Australian average and about the same as in the US.

”Another way of looking at it is the number of bedrooms,” said a Commonwealth Securities economist, Craig James. ”Around 20 years ago only one in every six homes had four or more bedrooms. By 2006 it was one in every 3.5 homes.

”While the fast pace of population growth points to the need for more and more homes, we are living in the biggest homes in the world. The simple fact is they could be better utilised.”

Mr James is encouraged by a slight increase in the number of Australians living in each home. The average household size has crept up from 2.52 to 2.56 people in 2007-08.

”It may not seem remarkable but it appears to be the first increase in at least a century, and perhaps the first since European settlement.

”It makes sense. Population is rising, as is the cost of housing and the cost of moving house, so we are making greater use of what we’ve got. Children are staying at home longer and more people are opting for shared accommodation. The key question is whether it’s permanent or temporary. If sustained, it will save us building 166,000 homes.”

Scott is correct, there was an article published recently that stated Australia had the largest average house size in the world, even larger than the yanks.

In our parents day they didn’t have 300 sqm homes as a first home, with a home theatre, spa bath, ensuite etc. They had a large block with a small house.

What do people think of baths in ensuites?

I was looking through houses of 30-35 squares, and in the majority of the show homes they had a shower (sometimes a double shower) but no bath. Would you expect one in a home of this size?

I caught a taxi in Sydney yesterday and was talking with the driver. He was complaining how little cab drivers made from a 12 hour shift and that it wasn’t worth it. I asked him what he planned to do in the future then, he said that he only drove taxis 2 days a week and had a fulltime job as well. I asked him what he was saving for. It turned out he wasn’t saving, just trying to pay his mortgage on an apartment. (This is when interest rates are at an all time low).

Here’s the killer, when I asked him what his fulltime job was, he said he was a software engineer. When software engineers have to take on extra jobs just to pay a mortgage on an apartment, the property market is in serious trouble when there is the slightest upset in the economy again, now that people have mortgaged themselves to the hilt, when interest rates are really low.

You could look at the Villa 24 from Formula Homes, It is the least expensive 2 storey I have found in that size range (it is 24 squares). Base cost is 194k and they do a luxury package for an extra 7k. The are also very flexible on making changes to the plans.

http://www.formulahomes.com.au/#/urban/

http://www.formulahomes.com.au/content/promos/selectAdvantage.pdf

Hi TCL,

I have been a bit disappointed so far, was expecting there to be some form of community from paying to sign up for this, to discuss ideas with.

It seems that nothing is happening though and the forum hasnt eventuated.