So you’ve run out of space in your home – now what? If you love your neighbourhood and local community, moving to a new home might not be the best solution for you, so it’s time to consider your options with the house you have.

Naturally, the next question is – renovate or knockdown and build new? There are lots of elements to take into account, with a different answer for every home, based on the individual situation.

There is no blanket rule when it comes to cost – each project requires specific costings, as they have unique considerations. A renovation can range from aesthetic to structural changes, so the costs can vary widely. Building a completely new home will incur expenses that you wouldn’t necessarily need in a renovation, such as installing brand-new utilities throughout the entire home.

At BCM Aust, we try to take the guesswork and mystery out of building, so you feel confident making every decision throughout the construction process. When it comes to making this choice, here are our top tips to consider.

Do you have a choice?

The first question to consider when deciding to renovate or knockdown and rebuild is whether knocking down your existing home is actually allowed!

Any heritage-listed homes are out of the question – they are protected by heritage laws that prevent demolition. You will therefore need to conduct some research into the status of your home to establish the scope of work you’d be allowed to do.

If your home has any heritage-listed aspects, it’s important you find out exactly what needs to be protected and what can change, as this will influence your project.

Benefits of renovating

A renovation allows you to keep the elements of your home that you love and cherish while bringing it into the modern day with a number of changes. You can leave the bedrooms as is and expand the living areas to be in-line with open-plan spaces or add additional rooms by going up and out.

When deciding on what your renovation will involve, it’s important to consider how long you plan on remaining in this home, and what significant lifestyle changes will happen in this time. For example, is your family still growing, or will your children be moving out of home in the next few years? If yes, you may need to consider flexible spaces that can be transformed depending on their need. If you’re unable to introduce these spaces in your existing home, a renovation may not be the best option.

In the case of a fairly straightforward renovation, it can be cheaper than knocking everything down and starting again. But in some cases, it’s impossible to know what’s waiting in the foundations of the home – if any structural damage is found, your bills may skyrocket.

Depending on the scope of work, you could remain in the home while renovating, which saves you money and the disruption of moving elsewhere temporarily.

Benefits of building new

A knockdown and rebuild means a blank canvas, allowing you to create your dream home from scratch. It doesn’t require adapting to the specifications of your existing home, so you can create a brand-new look, with a design that doesn’t require compromise. It also means no maintenance costs for the immediate future, as everything is brand-new!

As a rule of thumb, a brand new, high-quality home is going to attract a higher resale price than a renovation, so can end up being a better investment. This is generally due to the guaranteed structural stability– buyers understand that everything is new and therefore, shouldn’t require attention in the near future.

However, resale prices are quite area-dependent, so it’s worth doing some research into how properties in your local neighbourhood are selling and what buyers are looking for.

There are a couple of additional costs outside of the actual building when it comes to a knockdown rebuild too. First is the cost of relocating elsewhere for the duration of the project – unlike a renovation, there’s no living on site! The second is the demolition and clearing away of debris of your existing home – a builder can do this for you but will likely charge extra. 

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If you’re thinking about renovating or rebuilding your home, get in touch with the team at BCM Aust. We’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have about your existing home and chat through which option might be best.