It’s that time of the year again when the building industry will analyse
its performance till date, and evaluate new strategies for the year ahead to keep
up with the changing demands of the home buyer market and also remain
competitive in a challenging landscape.
Allworth Homes managing director Stephen Thompson predicts significant
changes to the building industry in 2015. He explains that land is in high
demand, and competition amongst land developers should drive prices down for
consumers, particularly first home buyers who are struggling to enter the
property market.
New trends in the home building segment include designs incorporating
smarter storage and efficient use of spaces as well as homes catering to the
multigenerational household with the extended family concept gaining ground.
Energy efficiency, open plan living/kitchen/dining area with a seamless flow
into the outdoor living or alfresco area, and more edgy and affordable kitchen
spaces are also trending in this segment.
Allworth Homes’ Top 6 trends and
predictions for 2015
1. Competition amongst land
developers will drive prices down
Increasing competition among land developers combined with smaller lot
sizes should bring down the prices and introduce new buyers to the market who
would previously not even have considered building.
2. Home designs will be small to
suit a new market
A major trend in home design will be clever layouts incorporating
computer nooks and great storage. Separate zones for family living and open
plan designs with seamless indoor-outdoor living/kitchen/dining transition will
be preferred.
3. House and land packages Vs
split contracts
While many buyers will choose to pay a premium for a house and land package
in a hot market as they’re being sold
the repayments as much as the house, there will be plenty who will still source
their own land and select a contract builder to save tens of thousands upfront,
not to mention long term interest repayments. When the market inevitably cools,
some of the newer exclusive package builders will withdraw. Contract builders
will be preferred as they can meet the expectations of demanding clients.
4. Land availability will be
strong in 2015
Higher land availability in the market in late 2014 and into 2015 will
correspondingly increase the affordability, particularly in the Hunter and
Illawarra regions. Pent-up demand for affordable housing should see contract
building companies such as Allworth Homes well placed for the next 3-4 years.
Lot sizes in Sydney will be markedly smaller with minimum sizes going down to
450 square metres from 600 square metres.
5. Volume home builders will be
assessing some alternative materials to bricks
With the shortage of bricklayers, building companies are exploring
alternatives to bricks. Stephen Thompson says people are warming to the idea of
alternatives to brick, as long as the new material maintains all the benefits
of traditional brick veneer.
6. Multigenerational living is
on the rise
An interesting trend is the move towards the extended family concept
with several new home buyers ‘future-proofing’ their home design by having
layouts that can, for instance, help create a new sleeping accommodation with
bathroom access with minimal renovation work. Homes with versatile spaces that
can be used in different ways and accommodate multigenerational living will
continue to be in high demand in the coming years.
