In an article for the website Domain, Sue Williams points at a new kind of housing adventure going on in Australia. Investors and buyers are buying old homes and redeveloping them in accordance with their contemporary lifestyle. Even existing homeowners are redeveloping vacant strips of land they own (lying next to their own home) and turning them into mirror images of their current home in terms of modernity.
Redevelopment projects turning into a norm
About a decade ago, we would have found developers rushing towards established, old homes in order to demolish the plot and create something more modern and profitable out of them. Market dynamics have certainly changed and today the investors, buyers, and existing homeowners are taking the redevelopment route ever so frequently.
Larger building envelope, closer to the waterfront
Williams writes that many such old homes are built on prime locations, sometimes right on the harbour. They have an enviable building envelope (something that cannot be matched today because of tighter regulations). Also, they are pretty close to the seafront. This is another aspect that can make one green with envy, since homes just cannot be built that close to the sea anymore. Naturally, people are on the lookout for such old homes lying on highly valuable pieces of land. Who would not want a share of that pie?
The three factors buyers look out for
If investors or existing home owners get great land position, worthy ‘aspect’ and a breathtaking view, they are quite willing to plunge into the deal even if it costs them more than what they had initially bargained for. These are, after all, really valuable pieces of land we are talking about. If effectively redesigned, these properties can lay proverbial golden eggs when it’s time to resell.
Take for example the case of John and Helen Gandel, says Williams. They owned a vacant plot of land right next to their own home. Their own place was a sanctuary of modernity. They decided to develop the vacant plot and give it a modern essence, too. Today, they have two properties, quite comparable to each other.
A lot of such redevelopment projects are going around in Sydney at the moment. You just need to be a little cautious about putting your steps right. You do not want to get waylaid and turn this great ROI opportunity into a renovation disaster.
You can read the original article here.
Williams also mentions that currently we are seeing many young owners giving a push for such redevelopment projects. They know that there is a big Asian market waiting to grab Australian homes with a contemporary touch.
Unless it is a heritage property, old homes can be grabbed pretty cheap
In my opinion, unless the old plots lie on heritage properties, they are better deals than the relatively new homes. This way, the young owners get to buy properties with a reasonable upfront cost and once they redevelop the properties, they are ready with amazing homes at prime locations all set to be grabbed by Asian (Chinese mostly) investors for very good prices.
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