Why is this the case with house size in U.K.?

[febgate16]

On social media, why are there some Americans and Australians who went talking about the size of properties refer to houses that are like 1500 ft.² as “small” or “average”, when in U.K. that would be considered large and nobody would say such a thing?

Is this entitlement or just because they are accustomed to large houses?

I wonder are British people just accustomed to living in small houses.

Like if you have a British person who raised children in America or Australia, would those children in America or Australia compared to their cousins who grew up in the UK consider an average semi-detached house in the UK to be so small whereas their cousins in the UK would not?

Have you seen the size of the UK compared to the US or Australia 😆

They have bigger houses built on bigger plots of land. Our small, medium and large houses are just smaller than their small, medium and large houses. We think they have big houses, they think we have small houses. Everything is more spaced out in America, wider roads, bigger parking spaces etc. I wouldn't say they're entitled, it's just what they're used to.

The amount of money that people are prepared to pay for their houses in some parts of the UK is astonishing. People are being royally ripped off!

Have you ever watched tv, OP? If so you would probably have worked out that in the US houses are enormous.

Exactly. There are more vast swathes of space. In cities like San Francisco or NY which can't expand because they border water, the houses generally aren't massive and they are very expensive.

much more land which is often cheaper in comparison

Land here in the UK, and Europe as a whole, is more valuable. There is less of it.

Population density is greater overall here. Hence we have more people squeezed into smaller spaces.

UK has the smallest houses in Europe, and europeans have smaller houses than the US so yes, to an American, the average UK house is tiny. 1500 sqf is a 2-bed house there.

I'm loving the implication of the OP that there's something inherently British about thinking our small houses are normal, and they might absorb this knowledge even if brought up in the US.

Not only is land cheaper but their houses are often made of cheaper materials like wood etc.

Size and price of flats in London and New York are compatible (at the moment I think NY is slightly more expensive for the same lettable area).

Do you mean Manhattan? Because NYC is a lot bigger than Manhattan.

I was brought up in the US and have lived in Vermont, Wyoming and Texas, so very rural, as well as Massachusetts. I was shocked at the size of the majority of houses when I came to the UK.

It’s not entitlement, it’s just what we’re used to as we have a larger country.

It’s the outdoor space that was most shocking though, an average 3 bed semi has a tiny garden. It definitely a culture shock!

Wait until you see their cars 😆

We assess house size by the number of bedrooms in the UK, not sq ft or sq m. I think the UK and the Netherlands are the two most densely populated countries in Europe. We have a housing crisis where there isn't enough housing for everyone, never mind for future expansion, which is a factor in pushing house prices up. Contrast the UK with the US and Oz and it's pretty obvious both are much bigger countries with more space available for housing and housing expansion.

My house is 1450 sq f and it’s an average house, certainly not large, nobody with a 1500 sq f in the uk thinks they live in a large home! (I have 3 bedrooms, an office/dining room and a kitchen diner that all, not a large home

Also go to major cities in the USA and you’ll find small houses and apartments, even shock horror terraced houses. I was actually bemused by how poor the housing stock was in WA and how many people lived in mobile homes with whole families plus I knew 2 people without hot running water, yes this century not 2 hours from one of the richest cities in the USA (Seattle). If you meet real Americans they aren’t like what you see in movies, on tv shows or on holiday, they have the same issues as us and (in all my friends cases) hate the orange man in charge but have no choice but stay because they don’t have money

Why are you currently obsessed with Australia & US? First it was the length of visas, now it's who has bigger houses. It's time for you to step away from social media as it's not real!

I suppose it's a matter of perception.

Our house is about 1500 sq ft and in my mind I think of it as 'large'. We have three dc who have their own double bedrooms, a very big lounge, decent kitchen and separate dining room, downstairs UC, small utility and a third reception room which is mine and dh's bedroom. We have plenty of space.

I grew up in a tiny two up-two down with several siblings though - so did dh. So to us, this felt like a bloody mansion moving in 😂

Objectively though, when I think of friends and relatives, i'd say our house is bigger than probably most of them - even those that I know for a fact out-earn us so it's not money related.

Big land area for the country = big house plots = bigger houses.
Big land area for the country = lower land prices = lower house prices.

I haven't got the faintest idea what size my house is in square feet (or metres). But shock horror, things happen differently in different places.

Yes, this👆🏻

Obviously. I grew up in the US. Our house, in a good neighbourhood (solid middle class), had nine bedrooms and was 4350sqft. Most houses of my friends had eat in kitchens plus a separate dining rooms, a living room plus a den or family room. 1500sq ft would have been considered small for sure. My sister’s house (which was a new build when bought 9 years ago), has a two car garage, living room, very large family room, eat in kitchen and separate dining area, four bedrooms and a finished loft the same footprint as the house. Plus the basement could be converted to a self contained one bedroom. It’s considered an average sized family home.

Yes, it's that difference that OP is posting about. OP wasn't under the impression that they were the same!?

@febgate16 In countries where land is plentiful and cheap with a low population density per square mile, they tend to have houses which cover a much larger footprint than what we have here in the UK:

Australia - 9 people per square mile
Canada - 11
USA - 99
France - 315
UK - 740
Japan - 889

We don't actively choose to live in smaller houses. Land in the UK is extremely expensive and they aren't making any more of it.

Does that help?