It seems that when people are being transferred within a company, the company tries to give them at least the same standard of living as they would have in their home country. Sometimes this turns out to be quite luxurious by local standards. Or the company wants to make an impression for their executives. Or no one wants to go there and they have to sweeten the pot.

Local companies recruiting from abroad give you a package appropriate to your level by local standards. So if you get hired by a South African company as I did, they would never think to include a house with any kind of heating, as that isn't customary no matter how cold it gets.

Australia seems to have a lot of people who are surprised by how much it costs to live there.