Biggest is better Down Under

Move over, gluttonous U.S. homeowners. Australians now eclipse Americans in building the largest homes, Reuters has reported.

What, you thought Americans are the only ones who gobble up square footage?

Australian homes have expanded in size an average 10% in the last decade to 2,310 square feet (214.6 square meters), according to a Commonwealth Bank of Australia study. The average size of U.S. homes starting construction in the second quarter this year was 2,091square feet (637 square meters), according to the National Assn. of Home Builders. Not exactly a hut, by the way. In fact, the floor size of U.S. single-family homes ballooned 13% to 2,459 square feet (750 square meters) from 1998 to 2008. Take that, Aussies!