Love your address but feel like your home isn’t quite meeting the demands of your lifestyle? What if there was a way for you to upgrade your house and stay in the same postcode?
It could be time to knock down and rebuild. Here are some of the key advantages to consider when you’re thinking about your options.
Love your postcode but not your house? Knock down and rebuild. Picture: Getty Images
1. You love your current location
Home is about more than just the house you live in. It’s about being able to pop next door when you need to borrow a cup of sugar, having friendly chats with your local greengrocer and knowing where to stand on the train platform so that the doors perfectly align with your exit. But if you’ve outgrown your current living situation, soaring land prices and renovation costs can mean relocating to a larger abode in the same area is financially unfeasible. A knock down-rebuild means you don’t have to find a new favourite local café, get to know new neighbours or carve out a new running track. It offers the best of both worlds – new place, same property.
2. You can make it yours
Knocking down and rebuilding your home means you can start with a blank slab, so to speak, and design your home based on how you want to live. Want an island bench in the kitchen, walk-in robes in the master bedroom or bi-fold doors that open onto an undercover al fresco area? Done. Home construction companies are at the forefront of modern housing design and can work with you to ensure your dream home becomes reality. Many builders now offer a customised and personalised service so you can choose your preferred base plan and pick and choose elements you love to create a space that ticks all the boxes on your wish list. Hello, waterfall stone benchtops.
Home construction companies are at the forefront of modern housing design and can work with you to ensure your dream home becomes reality. Picture: THINKSTOCK
3. Affordability
Working with a construction company or volume builder that has a tailored approach means the design is packaged into the build. According to HIA, the average cost of building in Melbourne was $1,322 per sqm and $1,192 outside of Melbourne (this does not include demolition costs etc) so depending on the size of your house, who you build through and what’s included, you could be in a brand new single storey home for under $250,000. Rebuilding on the property you already own also means you can avoid stamp duty – a significant cost with increasing house prices.
Building your dream house on the property you already own means you can avoid stamp duty.
4. Customise your home to your lifestyle
Interior architecture and design trends have greatly evolved over the last 20 years and building a new home means you get to take advantage of this. The last couple of decades have seen the emergence of the kitchen as the heart of the home and, as such, modern designs focus on open plan and communal living zones. The luxury trends have also permeated the home living space – which is why features such as butler’s pantries, theatre rooms and his-and-hers ensuites are the new interior must-haves.
Starting from scratch means you have the flexibility to include exactly what you want…
Starting from scratch means you can build a home perfect for your family’s needs.
5. Get all the bells and whistles
A rebuild gives you the freedom to kit out your abode with an array of home smart technology and green-living options – which doesn’t just benefit the environment but also your hip pocket. You can wire your home to include the latest lighting technology, as well as consider innovations such as home automation and battery storage, grid credits, and smart meters.
A rebuild gives your the opportunity to take advantage of new smart technology.
6. Sustainability
On a sustainable note, you can orient your home to take advantage of natural light to improve cooling and heating performance, and utilise sustainable materials, tank water and energy efficient technologies to minimise your environmental footprint. It’s also an opportunity to downsize your garden upkeep, with many new builds favouring low-maintenance courtyards and decks – often with in-built pools or spas – over rambling greenery.
