Nov
PlaceMate Architects Brisbane Renovations Update – Spring 2022
Hi, my name’s Jan Hogarth from PlaceMate Architects. As Brisbane renovations specialists, we specialise in quality Queenslander renovations and residential building projects. I’ve been doing this for 30 years.
Today, I’d like to tell you about the state of the industry. It’s my take on this in November 2022. So as you know, we’re coming off a huge boom. Property prices have really risen in the last couple of years, and building costs have gone up.
There’s a lot of bad news in the press about building companies going bad, and there’s gonna be a collapse. I think that’s overblown. There’s certainly a correction happening now, but costs are stabilising. If past booms are anything to go by, the prices go up and they kinda plateau out. To me, that’s what it feels like is happening again.
So, the fundamentals in Brisbane are still pretty good. We’ve got interstate migration. If you’ve got a good quality house in the inner ring of Brisbane suburbs, it’s lasting value. It’s not going to go down and collapse anytime soon. How so? The other thing that’s happening is that interest rates are going up, and, well, let’s just be frank, there’s not the same amount of money being thrown into people’s renovations as there was a couple of years ago, but people are still looking for lasting value from architects’ Brisbane renovations.
The Main Challenges for Homeowners
BEFORE: Brisbane Lift and Build-In Under at Grange
The main challenge that we face as architects, and you would face as an owner, is that the labor for buildings is very tight. Builders are finding it hard to get good-quality staff and actually complete projects on time.
So, consultants, and engineers, in particular, are very slow. Councils are slow. So things that used to take six weeks to get approved are taking three months, it’s tough. Even getting financial approvals, that time has blown out. Everything is slower. And in the meantime, the price keeps rising, but not as fast as it used to. So the issue for that is that the lead times for any kind of significant project are extending out.
Start Preparing for Renovations
AFTER Lift and Build Under by PlaceMate Architects Brisbane renovations specialists in Grange.
So the thing about this is, if you are thinking that you need a bigger or a better quality house anytime in the next couple of years, your preparation time should start soon. If you met me tomorrow, I would say that the soonest you’d be in that house is at the end of 2025. It’ll take a year to prepare and a year to build. That’s a two-year lead time. If you are thinking of a staged construction you might do it in stages, might be over a five-year plan so you can start on bits and pieces around the house first and then do the big one later on, again, you need to prepare and have a strategy for that.
So, I’d say don’t be too worried about the money as long as you’ve got a good quality property and your own financial situation is stable. And if you are looking for lasting value, it’s worth investing in design consultants earlier on. And if you just want advice to get the ball rolling, start the conversation amongst yourselves and see what happens. Then fill in the details of your project on the request a site visit page, and I will call to discuss your project. And, yeah, I’ll tell you you’re dreaming or welcome you in the door, whatever that may be. Thank you very much.
Don’t forget, you can view the original video and more videos from Jan Hogarth, our very own PlaceMate Architects Brisbane Renovations expert. Watch Jan’s regular updates and subscribe to our channel at https://youtu.be
At PlaceMate Architects Brisbane we can help you turn your dreams into reality.
