Build your own home or buy a new one – which is best for me?
Raine and Horne Murraylands’ Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele offer their advice on a dilemma facing local home buyers.
This sponsored story is brought to you by Raine and Horne Murraylands.
Land is being subdivided and new homes are going up at a rate of knots around Murray Bridge at the moment as the city’s population keeps growing.
If you’re interested in making a life here, opportunities abound.
A reasonable number of older properties are available on the market; but if you’re a first home buyer looking for something new, you have a decision to make.
Should you build your own dream home, or buy one that has just been finished?
Here to offer their advice are property consultants Michael Cox and Casey DeMichele from Raine and Horne Murraylands.
Why should I build my own home?
There are big advantages to building your own home.
You can design a property that will have all the features you could want, sized and laid out to suit you and your family, and at a cost that fits your budget.
You’ll be free to choose a location that suits you, close to your workplace or particular schools or shops.
If you end up in one of the new neighbourhoods being developed around Murray Bridge, you’ll likely be surrounded by couples and families at a similar stage of life – a natural community.
“There’s land available at the moment, mostly in that lifestyle size, with good options for families wanting to build a large home with room for shedding, entertaining or a pool,” Casey says.
The price of a vacant block of land has increased in recent years, but is still affordable compared with the Adelaide Hills, Michael points out: “There are some good value buys around.”
Why should I buy a new home instead?
There are two key reasons you might prefer to buy a newly built home: time and money.
Building a home might take 18 months or longer, and of course you’ll have to keep paying rent while you wait for it to be finished.
You can find completed homes at competitive prices at the moment, too, Michael suggests.
The cost of land in the Murraylands has increased so much over the past couple of years that building is not necessarily as affordable an option as it once was.
“If you can buy something and move in there in 60 days, versus starting to pay mortgages and bills while you’re still paying rent in the background … price-wise (it can be beneficial),” he says.
While you might not be able to choose every individual feature in a home built by someone else, you will have the benefit of being able to walk through it and imagine how your life might fit into it.
“For some people, making all those selections isn’t easy,” Michael says.
In any case, you can always repaint that room or replace those bench tops later on.
More and more newly built homes are becoming available in neighbourhoods like Hindmarsh Estate and Narooma Waters, partly as a result of changes to the regulatory environment for investors.
Many are suited to families, with four bedrooms and two bathrooms on a sensibly sized allotment.
What help is available?
For first home buyers, the good news is that, whichever option you choose, a number of initiatives can help you get a foothold in the market:
- As a first home buyer, a stamp duty concession will save you more than $30,000 on the cost of an average home in Murray Bridge
- A first home owner grant of up to $15,000 is available to owner-occupiers
- Both the South Australian Homestart program and federal five per cent deposit scheme help first-time buyers get a home loan
Each program applies to both newly built homes and those yet to be built.
People over the age of 60 can also benefit from stamp duty relief if they plan on downsizing into a newly built home, or building their own, on a smaller block of land than the property where they live.
Michael and Casey can help you get your head around which might apply to your individual circumstances, and help you find a property that’s right for you – newly built, vacant lot or otherwise.
Visit them at Raine and Horne Murraylands and start a conversation about your dreams today.
- More information: Visit www.raineandhorne.com.au/murraylands, call 8532 3833 or drop into the office at 4 Seventh Street, Murray Bridge. For home buyer support, visit homeseeker.sa.gov.au.
Advertising to more than 20,000 highly engaged locals can do wonders for your business. Call Jane Intini on 0418 835 768 or email jane@murraybridge.news.
Peri Strathearn
