In the city of backyards, the Australian dream is changing

On a radiant northside morning, real estate agent Trent McDermott walks 26 groups, mostly young couples, through a modest timber home and out the back door to a vanishing Australian dream.

The yard is big but not onerous; the lawn green and neatly trimmed. Magpies chortle from a grand poinciana, which shades a child’s swing set. Pavers connect the porch with a Hills Hoist clothesline.

At a tick over 100 square metres, the Keperra home’s…