Australians have been steadily moving toward smaller households, according to a new report by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

The report analysed monthly ABS labour force survey data and says the decline in average household size contributed to a sizeable increase in demand for the number of homes in Australia.

“(this) helped offset the relatively slow growth in the population during the pandemic,” it says.

Part of the increase in small household size includes an ageing population. With people living longer, there are larger numbers of older single people, according to Colleen Peterson of planning consultancy Ratio.

“Australia’s average household size has been shrinking dramatically,” she says.

“We were having fewer children and were delaying the age at which we have those children and we’re living longer. So, all those things add up to fewer larger families and older families of one to two are living much longer. We’ve been on that trend for 20, maybe 30 years.”