“I’m devastated! We just can’t afford to build our home!” It’s a cry that I’ve heard from multiple people and a few clients over the last couple of months, as they’ve embarked on pricing for their project and received a rude shock.
There is no question that over the last 4 years we have experienced an unprecedented spike in the cost of building. Projects that began 3-4 years ago are now being priced at more than double the initial budget and recent conversations with local real estate agents have revealed that home buyers are opting for already renovated houses, fearful of budget overruns and over-capitalisation - and it’s not surprising.
While building material supply has stabilised, the cost of construction hasn’t receded so there are many people who have bought a home with a renovation in mind, or a block of land for a new home, paid for the design and now can’t afford to build.
So what can be done about it?
One of our clients is holding off their build, hoping that with the slowing of the construction industry, pricing will become more competitive. It remains to be seen whether prices will stabilise or recede.
Another client is staging their project - building/renovating the priority areas now and building the remainder down the track.
We have worked with another client to reduce the scope of their build - instead of adding a large extension, we have tweaked the existing floor plan with a minor extension to serve their requirements now and also allowing for staging in future.
Given that this is such a hot issue that is affecting so many, we’re going to send out a series of short and sharp weekly newsletters to provide you with some different ways of thinking about your new build or renovation, and managing the costs. So don't despair! With some creative thinking, there are many ways you can build or renovate without blowing out your budget.
And in the meantime, if you’d like to chat further, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Sincerely,
Fiona and the Sanctuary Design Team
p.s. if you jump over to our website, we've updated our projects page with some more recently completed projects. And with the photographer booked in for another two projects, you'll see even more updates in the weeks to come.
