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DIY renovations still as popular as ever

Danielle Cahill

Danielle Cahill, News editor at Real Commercial

Australians’ love affair with renovation is still going strong with most Aussies planning a makeover of their property.

Kitchens and bathrooms are the most popular rooms to renovate and most home owners plan to redecorate their houses themselves, according to the findings of realestate.com.au’s latest  Consumer Intentions Study.

The survey of 1534 people taken in March reveals our obsession with property is as much about DIY as it is about buying and selling.

Quality is the number one point that either attracts or repels buyers.

Around 7% of respondents said they are planning to renovate their property.

Of those planning renovations, 32% say they will do most of the work themselves, 29% say they will do part of the work and 17% say they will do all the work themselves.

Kitchen and bathroom renovations

Which room will most renovators tackle first?

For most renovators the kitchen and bathroom are top of the list, with 22% planning a kitchen overhaul and 21% looking to redo their bathroom.

The focus on DIY renovations on those two rooms comes as a surprise for real estate stylist Naomi Findlay.

“Unless you are in a trade, a kitchen or bathroom isn’t something many people would tackle on their own,” she says.

“If done well, it’s an area that can completely boost the value of a house – without a doubt. But you can risk – if it’s not well-planned and if it’s not a great fit for the style of the home, the area of the home or the market and you are going to be selling in 12 months –  you run the risk of doing yourself out of some of that return on investment.”

Bathroom during renovation

Renovating a bathroom often requires work from tradespeople to get the right finish.


LJ Hooker Head of Real Estate Christopher Mourd says home owners wanting to renovate need to critically “look at the bones of what they’re working with”.

“Let’s say you have a 1960s style home with an original kitchen, there’ll be examples of that that are really beautifully maintained, quite funky and people would really like to take it on, if it’s really well- presented.  But if it’s deteriorated over the years, you’ve got to look at whether or not you do (a reno) up to a complete strip out,” he says.

Other properties may not need to be completely remodelled.

Ask your local real estate agent to see what types of finishes people are chasing.

“If we look at a kitchen that’s maybe ten years old, it’s possible to keep the carcass in place and just change the tops of benches and the (cupboard) doors – at a much lower cost and get a whole new look and feel,” Mourd says.

“You’ve got to look at what you’ve got and I strongly recommend people look at properties in the marketplace that have been finished, to see what they’re doing and what the responses are.

“It’s a good thing to ask your local real estate agent, to see what types of finishes people are chasing.”

While the kitchen and bathroom are the main areas to renovate, Mourd says sometimes a home can be vastly improved in other ways.

“Sometimes it’s just down to making sure you get more light into a home. If we’re talking about older homes and we go back into the 60s and 70s, the homes didn’t necessarily open up as much.

“It’s not uncommon in very old homes to find you’ve got a small door leading to a backyard. Well you can’t then enjoy that amenity.  So it’s doing things like opening the home up, making it lighter and brighter.”

Renovation budgets

When it comes to budgeting, a staggering 28% of home owners don’t know how much they will end up spending on a renovation, while 17% plan to spend between $20-50,000.

Findlay says the wide variation in labour costs across the country can hamper those attempting to update a kitchen or bathroom.

“For a bathroom and kitchen you do need trade input. You do need electricians, you do need plumbers, you do need water-proofers and unless you’re going to have a crack at the tiling yourself and you’re pretty skilled at that – you need a tiler. It is quite a trade heavy renovation,” she says,

Mourd says most home owners understand the importance of not over capitalising.

“Your stats show that the type of work that people tend to do are in that lower-cost area, the $20-50K bracket. So the important things are the bathroom and kitchen, a fresh coat of paint, making sure the floorboards are freshly done and that it’s really well presented. That’s a minimum position and certainly with those sorts of budgets you can get that work done.

Dated kitchen

Renovating an older property will often involve structural issues.


“That (work) can make a significant difference to a purchaser, so that’s what most people do,” he says.

When renovating, particularly for an older property, Mourd also suggests budgeting for unknown structural issues that often occur.

“You might have something that looks perfect on the surface and once you start opening it up, you might have had white ant activity for example that needs to be completely pulled out. You don’t see that before you go in, there might be dampness issues you didn’t know about,” he says.

“Rest assured on an older home there’s going to be problems that aren’t obvious to you, that will arise that you’re going to have to deal with. Don’t go in maxing out your budget from the start”

Selling up

Home owners in the same survey were also asked if they plan to sell their property, with 74% stating they plan to put their home on the market in the next 12 months.

Of those looking to sell 38% say they want to live in a better location, yet only 14% are selling up in order to buy a bigger property.

This would suggest that more home owners are updating their properties in order to sell, which is surprising, says Mourd.

“We’ve noted that many people have been improving their homes and are looking to stay within their properties.So the fact that such a significant percentage of that sample audience (in the survey) have considered that once they’ve done it (a renovation) that they’re preparing to do another one – that was quite eye-opening,” he says.

“Is it the case that they’re after the next (reno) project or is it that they really just want to realise that capital gain?.”

Video: DIY nation

If you are renovating and plan to sell soon, Mourd says to consider bringing in licenced tradespeople to do certain tasks to ensure a quality finish.

“Quality is the number one point that either attracts or repels buyers. So if they think the repairs done in any point of the house are bodgy or not up to a reasonable standard, there’ll be a consideration that could be that that could be the case across the entire home. So whatever you do, do it well.  If you can’t afford to do it well, don’t do it,” he says.

 

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