To BUILD NEW HOME versus BUYING A NEWISH HOME versus BUYING AN OLD HOME?

hello everyone!!!

house hunting has been so frustrating... contemplating on renting for the rest of our lives instead... budget wise we can afford to build but in more remote places like 40k away from work... buying a house seems more affordable but newish homes (6 years old and below) are in smaller blocks than old ones (built in 1980s)... as someone who is a first homebuyer what advice can you give me?

has viewed an oldish house in PARKWOOD that has been renovated but its about 28 years old already...

thanks for the help guys!!!!

You will find that in Oz it's your land that's valued the most, it's the land that will go up in value, so it doesn't really matter if you buy an old or new home. If you are entitled to the grants then opt for a new build. Personally after seeing a number of people disappointed with houses they have had built I would opt for a new one that is already built (plus this way you get to see what houses are up around you) or the older property.

Not sure about about Perth but here in Vic you get a lot more Grant if you build. I think its $7k First Home Owners Grant to buy and a further bonus of $13k if you build a new home.

I think on the whole you get a lot more for your money if you buy established rather than build when you factor in things like paint, carpets/tiles, blinds, aircon, landscaping etc which many people don't take into consideration and can add quite a significant amount to the perceived cost.

If you really want new, then look for one that's almost finished that someone is wanting to sell (for whatever reason, can't afford to finish/ relationship breakdown--probably due to the stress of building ) and you could pick up a good deal. Where I used to live in Perth you would see it fairly regularly, not sure if it's still the same though.

Older houses may have more land in some areas but the build quality can be very variable. New building regulations mean that newer houses have better insulation, water savng etc.

The regs are still only the basic requirements though and what many build to. When we built we added more insulation and double glazing (in Adelaide Hills). Can make a big saving in heating/cooling bills.

Regulations are changing all the time and it won't be long before double Glazing is mandatory for new builds, it already is in Tasmania.

People forget to ask about insulation and without it these big open plan houses can take a lot of heating/cooling. It does get cold in the winter in some areas, people are always moaning about the cold in Adelaide, mainly because they can't get their houses warm!

We built our current house because we couldn't find exactly what we wanted in an existing property. On the plus side we had control over ever tiny detail. On the down side we made sure we visited every day to double check ever tiny detail. Would we do it again? Absolutely - but I'm a detail nazi and complete control freak.

It often works out cheap to build because of tax exemptions- so long as you more or less stick with a package. The more 'individual' featues, the higher the cost. It takes a while, though and if you want something quickly it might be better to get a pre-existing home- at least you get an idea what it looks like with furniture in it.

We built here in Perth just over two years ago now! The established houses in the areas we liked we're too expensive. I'm glad we built now because we just moved our stuff in and got on with life. We didn't didn't have to add a lot to the total cost as the only big item we paid for was tiling on the main living area floors, rather than linoleum which is what was included. We also had full landscaping included which they don't offer now, it costs a lot of money to pay for it. Would I do it again? Absolutely! I didn't break a sweat lol!

We will certainly look to be owner builders in Perth after successfully building our own house here in the UK. Probably won't use a developer though but rather actually physically build a lot of it ourselves starting off with either a steel or SIPs kit as the shell. Should be able to get a lot more for the money that way, but then it takes brave/insane people like us to go that route !

We should also be able to get a reasonable lot size instead of these tiny lots the developers give you where you can almost touch the neighbours house over the fence !

thanks guys for your replies... still unsure what im gonna go for, prices are going up again and everything seems so complicated...

Channel 4’s property guru Phil Spencer is hosting a Q&A session for a More 4 special. If you have a question you would like to ask Phil about moving to Australia and buying property, email him at askphil@raisetheroofproductions.com

Please submit your questions by Friday 24th February

Well now, having rented, bought and built, must say that having a home built to your specs is far better than buying "off-the-shelf".

Our builder asked us things we never even thought of, "how many power points do you want and where do you want them? What colour scheme do you want in the bathroom/bedrooms/kitchen and cupboards? What kind of bricks do you want and what colour do you want them?" etc. etc.

And, most important, the builders are wise to the foibles of the local councils.

Cheers, Bobj.

Exactly Bob, the precise reasons we built in the UK although we were the builders !

Seen some lovely lots for a reasonable price and nearly twice as big as your mainstream builders in Perth so fingers crossed we can do a repeat but to Oz designs!

so far ive only scrathced the surface of this, but so far building is winning.

its the stamp duty that seems to cripple it. if you build the stamp duty is less.

however the risk is more.

dilemma for sure!