Is it time to buy instead of renovating?

At some point in time, many homeowners are faced with the question of whether to move or renovate. Naturally your needs change as life progresses, from accommodating a new arrival to downsizing or requiring a home office, so when you’re deciding whether to stay put or seek out new digs, you’ll need to weigh up the pros and cons of each.

Over the last few years we’ve been highlighting the many upsides of renovating, with our team at CH being a one-stop-shop when it comes to helping you build equity in your home through improvements. This hasn’t changed, however the market has. Not so long ago conditions were bullish, with buyers losing out on properties due to stiff competition and instead opting to focus on renovating their existing home. Now, with the sudden shift in listing levels coupled with rising inflation and interest rates, the building market has accelerated and driven prices through the roof and the timeframe has also increased significantly.

Given that the market has cooled and become more of a buyer‘s domain, right now could be a prudent time to move as opposed to embarking on a renovation that might take years and cost twice as much as you had originally budgeted for.

Of course, there are plenty of pros to renovating. You’ll add considerable value to your home, you get to stay in an area you know and have emotional attachments to and you can use the equity in your home to fund your build. However, there are also plenty of things to consider, with budget generally the main deciding factor between renovating and moving.

You’ll often need to factor in the cost of moving out while your renovations are ongoing, which can get expensive, especially if your build runs over time. And with the currently low rental vacancy rates, it might also prove difficult. On top of your building costs you’ll need to budget for additional expenses such as demolition work, skip bin hire, inspection reports, surveyor fees, asbestos removal and furniture storage, all of which add considerably to your bottom line.

If the time, cost and effort of renovating stacks up, it could be the option for you, especially if you’re attached to your current home. However, if the uncertainty around budget, building delays and supply issues is too prohibitive or too much of an unknown, then right now is a great time to take advantage of favourable buying conditions. You’re unlikely to be competing against as many buyers as your were six months ago, giving you greater scope to negotiate on price and sales terms.