Latest news with #homevalue
Daily Telegraph
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Telegraph
Australia's best suburbs to live ranked in new lifestyle study
Sydney and NSW's best places to live have been revealed, ranging from exclusive Harbour enclaves through to hidden gems offering an affordable refuge from soaring city prices. And the lifestyle is so attractive that these areas have also been declared some of the best areas to own a home due to a long track record of consistent and above average growth in prices. Much of this growth has historically occurred at the start of interest rate cutting cycles, with top lifestyle areas often leading the first charge upward in prices and other areas later playing catch up. MORE: Huge salary that's now too low to buy a home MORE: Robert Irwin's sad fortune left by dad Steve The Warringah region of Sydney's northern beaches reigned supreme among the areas deemed to have the best mix of accessibility, family friendly settings, nature, beaches, home value growth and more. The region, which includes Dee Why, Collaroy, Freshwater, North Manly and 23 other suburbs, was ranked the location with the best lifestyle offering in the country, according to quantity surveyor group MCG's latest Four-Pillar Lifestyle Index. The eastern suburbs-south, which includes Coogee, Clovelly, Maroubra and La Perouse, also scored highly nationally. The city region was deemed the fifth best place in Australia to live. There were also much more affordable locations in and around Sydney that scored well for lifestyle. Wollongong's northern suburbs – which include Thirroul, Austinmer and Coalcliff – along with Wollongong-West were deemed the top NSW lifestyle locations outside Sydney. Median prices in these areas range from $820,000 to $1.5 million. The Index analysed every suburb across Australia using SuburbTrends data based on its 'intrinsic liveability' and the attributes considered most popular in Australia. This included coastal amenity, green assets, metropolitan access and community depth, with each pillar weighted equally and run against historic property price metrics. MORE: Shock food chain topples Maccas as world's biggest MCG Quantity Surveyors director Mike Mortlock said the purpose of the research was to guide Australians on the best markets to own a home over the long term. 'We looked at factors that are always in demand,' he said. 'They're attributes that help markets outperform over the long haul. We know buyers will pay a premium to have them. 'All the pillars we looked at were attributes that real estate agents have historically highlighted as the most pertinent points for home buyers, what they consider the most suitable for them.' Mr Mortlock said it was far more important in real estate to consider the long-term factors pushing at a market because most people stayed in the same homes for at least 10 to 15 years. 'When we buy a home, and we're looking at it from an investment point of view and trying to consider what it will be worth in future, the key question to ask yourself is who will buy this down the track? 'Who will it appeal to in 20 years? What you don't want is a property or location that will only appeal to a (landlord/investor). For buyers like that, it's all about numbers. Owner occupiers on the other hand buy with emotion and that's who you need to appeal to. 'The markets that have proved to have more consistent growth have lifestyle components baked in.' Northern beaches agent Tim Cullen of McGrath-Manly said it was the property offering in the area that actually made it stand out. 'It seems the secret is out,' he said. 'It is a more expensive area, but it's actually one of the more affordable places in Sydney to live close to the beach. 'We find people who move here as renters tend to stay and will buy in the area. Most people stay in their homes 20-30 years.' Mortgage Choice-Dee Why James Algar said the northern beaches offered a lifestyle few other areas could match. 'People love the beaches,' he said. 'There is a great sense of community and many have grown up here so its home. The outdoor lifestyle is also a major drawcard. And it's close enough to the CBD to commute to work but far enough removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.' Allambie Heights resident Hamish Rollason said he wasn't surprised the Warringah area ranked as the best lifestyle location in the country. 'The northern beaches has an edge over some of the other really nice places to live,' he said. 'There are so many more parks and on any given day you just take your pick of beach. 'There's also lots of great places to eat and it's accessible. You can get to work easily.' Mr Rollason added that it came with a big catch. His family are currently selling their three-bedroom house at 2 Larissa Rd to upsize to a new home and expect competition to be tough. 'With more rate cuts probably coming, we're expecting a groundswell of buyers. We're hoping if we buy soon we won't get caught in a situation of prices rising too quickly.'
News.com.au
15 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Australia's best suburbs to live ranked in new lifestyle study
Sydney and NSW's best places to live have been revealed, ranging from exclusive Harbour enclaves through to hidden gems offering an affordable refuge from soaring city prices. And the lifestyle is so attractive that these areas have also been declared some of the best areas to own a home due to a long track record of consistent and above average growth in prices. Much of this growth has historically occurred at the start of interest rate cutting cycles, with top lifestyle areas often leading the first charge upward in prices and other areas later playing catch up. The Warringah region of Sydney's northern beaches reigned supreme among the areas deemed to have the best mix of accessibility, family friendly settings, nature, beaches, home value growth and more. The region, which includes Dee Why, Collaroy, Freshwater, North Manly and 23 other suburbs, was ranked the location with the best lifestyle offering in the country, according to quantity surveyor group MCG's latest Four-Pillar Lifestyle Index. The eastern suburbs-south, which includes Coogee, Clovelly, Maroubra and La Perouse, also scored highly nationally. The city region was deemed the fifth best place in Australia to live. There were also much more affordable locations in and around Sydney that scored well for lifestyle. Wollongong's northern suburbs – which include Thirroul, Austinmer and Coalcliff – along with Wollongong-West were deemed the top NSW lifestyle locations outside Sydney. Median prices in these areas range from $820,000 to $1.5 million. The Index analysed every suburb across Australia using SuburbTrends data based on its 'intrinsic liveability' and the attributes considered most popular in Australia. This included coastal amenity, green assets, metropolitan access and community depth, with each pillar weighted equally and run against historic property price metrics. MCG Quantity Surveyors director Mike Mortlock said the purpose of the research was to guide Australians on the best markets to own a home over the long term. 'We looked at factors that are always in demand,' he said. 'They're attributes that help markets outperform over the long haul. We know buyers will pay a premium to have them. 'All the pillars we looked at were attributes that real estate agents have historically highlighted as the most pertinent points for home buyers, what they consider the most suitable for them.' Mr Mortlock said it was far more important in real estate to consider the long-term factors pushing at a market because most people stayed in the same homes for at least 10 to 15 years. 'When we buy a home, and we're looking at it from an investment point of view and trying to consider what it will be worth in future, the key question to ask yourself is who will buy this down the track? 'Who will it appeal to in 20 years? What you don't want is a property or location that will only appeal to a (landlord/investor). For buyers like that, it's all about numbers. Owner occupiers on the other hand buy with emotion and that's who you need to appeal to. 'The markets that have proved to have more consistent growth have lifestyle components baked in.' Northern beaches agent Tim Cullen of McGrath-Manly said it was the property offering in the area that actually made it stand out. 'It seems the secret is out,' he said. 'It is a more expensive area, but it's actually one of the more affordable places in Sydney to live close to the beach. 'We find people who move here as renters tend to stay and will buy in the area. Most people stay in their homes 20-30 years.' Mortgage Choice-Dee Why James Algar said the northern beaches offered a lifestyle few other areas could match. 'People love the beaches,' he said. 'There is a great sense of community and many have grown up here so its home. The outdoor lifestyle is also a major drawcard. And it's close enough to the CBD to commute to work but far enough removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.' Allambie Heights resident Hamish Rollason said he wasn't surprised the Warringah area ranked as the best lifestyle location in the country. 'The northern beaches has an edge over some of the other really nice places to live,' he said. 'There are so many more parks and on any given day you just take your pick of beach. 'There's also lots of great places to eat and it's accessible. You can get to work easily.' Mr Rollason added that it came with a big catch. His family are currently selling their three-bedroom house at 2 Larissa Rd to upsize to a new home and expect competition to be tough. 'With more rate cuts probably coming, we're expecting a groundswell of buyers. We're hoping if we buy soon we won't get caught in a situation of prices rising too quickly.'
RNZ News
2 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
How much is a bathroom really worth?
Living House bathroom. Photo: Supplied What's an extra bathroom worth in a house, really? If you're trying to get ready in the morning alongside your spouse and kids, you might think the answer is "quite a lot". Cotality, formerly Corelogic, data shows that people are willing to pay more for houses with multiple bathrooms. Head of research Nick Goodall looked at the value of three-bedroom houses compared to the value of three bedrooms houses with two bathrooms, when the characteristics such as floor size, land area and decade built, were otherwise similar. For a three-bedroom house built in the 2000s, people were willing to spend $39,000 more for a second bathroom in Waitakere, $62,000 more in Manukau, $65,000 more in Hamilton, $51,000 more in Tauranga and $59,000 more in Christchurch. "It may reflect the size of households in those areas, for example if household sizes are higher in Manukau, Hamilton and Christchurch then perhaps buyers value the extra bathroom there, more so than in Waitakere and to a lesser degree Tauranga." He said it became more common for newly built three-bedroom houses to have two bathrooms in the 2000s. "It shows that the ways households are formed these days, that requirement is more expected." Some people were adding bathrooms into houses that did not have more than one, he said. "There's that desire to have multiple bathrooms in a house even if you've only go three bedrooms. Anyone with kids will know… we personally added a bedroom and a bathroom. The bathroom is almost the most important because kids will share a bedroom, but when there are four or five people in a households that second bathroom is pretty important." He said the data seemed to indicate that it was worth spending the money to do. "If a buyer is likely to be willing to spend $40,000 to $60,000 more… that looks like the additional value. It's not a perfect analysis because there could be other factors but I suppose it provides some comfort that if you're spending $30,000 you're likely not over-capitalising and you will see that value returned to you as and when you sell." He said for property investors, an extra bathroom was probably more like to help a place rent rather than generate higher rent. "They might get more value from a bedroom, where you can increase the rent of the back of it." Property investor Steve Goodey said he found that extra bathrooms were a bonus. He said any home with more than two bedrooms should at least have an additional toilet. Real estate salesperson Brooke Gibson said having one bathroom would narrow the market for a property and could affect the price, but there would still be people who wanted to buy. "I'm a huge believer in you buy what you can afford and make it work." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Why Buyers Are Paying More for Homes With Bunkers and Survival Amenities
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Most features that raise your home's value are visually obvious: a black front door, solar panels, or an open kitchen with a waterfall island. But the thing that might increase buyer interest the most these days is completely hidden—and on purpose. That's because they're bunkers. Unlike a traditional basement, these disaster shelters come with independent air systems and gas-tight, nuclear blast-resistant doors. Oh, and don't forget the marble kitchen counters and wine fridges. 'I don't make bunkers that feel like a jail cell—they're meant to feel like another room of the house,' says Ron Hubbard, chief executive at Atlas Survival Shelters, where his nuclear-safe shelters can start at $200,000 and include full kitchens, bathrooms, and wine cellars. (Real talk: Some are gun storage, too.) Some of their entrances are hidden behind bookcases or bars, because, as he puts it, we all have a little Bruce Wayne in us. Once seen as an amenity specifically for tin foil hat wearers, the current state of the world has changed all that, and business is booming. Atlas has hundreds of orders on the docket for the next two years. And, according to 2023 survey data from Finder, nearly a third of the population has spent $11 billion on emergency preparedness. Many celebrities have already gotten on board—Josh Duhamel, Mark Zuckerberg, and Kim Kardashian all reportedly have underground shelters—but for the rest of us, adding a bunker to your home doesn't have to be such an extreme investment. Altering an existing basement into a weather- and war-proof shelter can cost between $15,000 and $30,000, which, in renovation terms, is on the low end for a bathroom refresh. And for some people, hiring a contractor won't even be an issue: Hubbard says that developers in Texas and Oklahoma are automatically including 1,000-square-foot bunker basements in the homes they're building. But even if the bunker business is booming, finding civilians who will talk about their shelters is as difficult as, well, identifying a trick bookshelf that leads to a bomb-proof basement. (A rep from Atlas says their customers aren't willing to go on the record 'due to the secretive nature of our product.') Still, Hubbard thinks we may eventually live in a time when Americans need to have access to a shelter. That said, real estate agents say that a home with some type of survival shelter, even if it's not a full bunker, can increase resale value—while, of course, also providing safety. 'We have seen a small influx of compounds around the country building bunkers in the ultra high-end market,' says real estate agent Carl Gambino, founder of Gambino Group, which handles luxury listings in New York, L.A., Miami, New Jersey, the North Fork, and the Hamptons. But that's not the majority, he says: 'We more often see safe rooms, which can contribute positively to sales.' Instead of bunkers, some L.A.–based real estate agents have also seen an increase in fire hardening—adding flame-resistant roofing and siding, for example—following this year's wildfires. To fully protect your home, though, real estate agent Sunny Whang of Compass suggests a multi-pronged approach: metal roofing, roof sprinklers, ember-resistant vents and gutters, enclosing eaves with soffit panels, coating windows, and trimming trees that could spread fire. Resale value aside, wherever you live, consider taking any necessary precautions—however small—to help keep your home (and family!) safe from disasters. Follow on Instagram and TikTok. You Might Also Like 15 Home Bar Gifts Every Cocktail Enthusiast Will Appreciate 32 Low Light Indoor Plants That Can Survive in the Darkest Corners of Your Home These Are the 50 Best Paint Colors for Your Living Room
The Independent
17-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Do solar panels increase your home's value?
One of the first things people ask their solar panel installers when beginning the purchasing process is do solar panels increase home value? And if you ask your favourite search engine the same question, you are likely to get an answer that sounds very comforting, with some websites touting gains of as much as 14 per cent of your property's value. However, this can vary by region. The truth is a bit more complex, of course. The short answer to this question is almost certainly yes. That's because it's very unlikely that adding something that would give your home's new owner some free electricity for a few decades would make that home less attractive. But the question you are really asking is: by how much? And this is a much harder question to answer. How much do solar panels cost in the first place? The cost of solar panels depends on the size of the array. The table below will give you some indication, with array costs taken from a survey of installers conducted by The Independent and energy prices from the Energy Saving Trust. Household size System size in kw Array cost Electricity cost per year before solar Savings (energy used and sold from panels) Price after solar (negative means a surplus) Pays for itself after 3-bed 3.6kw £4,990 2,900 kWh @24.5 pence = £710 £540 £170 9 years 4-bed 5.4kw £5,470 2,900 kWh @24.5 pence = £710 £780 -£70 7 years 5-bed+ 9.9kw £7,390 2,900 kWh @24.5 pence = £710 £1,370 -£660 5 years When can I see a return on my investment? The table above tells you that with a bigger array you can get a return on your investment in as little as five years, but more like nine for smaller installations. To do the maths we are using an address in London, assuming a family of three and typical use — no heat pumps, high daytime usage or electric car charging. Other assumptions include no shade on the panels and that someone is in, using power for about half the day and an export price of 15 pence per kilowatt hour (p/kWh). Other than a new inverter, no other maintenance costs are assumed, and no financing costs are assumed. The roof is roughly south-east facing. Much will depend on what price you get for your exported electricity. Tariffs vary widely. If you keep on top of things, however, you should be able to secure the 15p/kWh rate used in our assumptions. Much will depend on what price you get for your exported electricity. Smart Export Guarantee (SEG) tariffs vary widely between suppliers, from around 2p/kWh to over 15p/kWh. If you keep on top of things, you should be able to get a competitive rate. How energy prices affect the ROI of solar panels Energy prices have a huge impact on the return on investment you get from solar panels. In 2021, a solar array might have taken 12 to 15 years to pay for itself. But by 2023, thanks to soaring electricity prices, that payback window fell to as little as five to nine years. Even with prices now stabilising, they remain well above pre-2020 levels. If you're able to use a large proportion of your electricity during the day — for example, by running appliances or charging a battery — you can dramatically increase your savings. The Energy Saving Trust has a handy calculator you can use to ascertain your savings from having solar panels and the ROI on your investment. Do solar panels increase home value in the UK? A good way of tackling this question is thinking about home improvements in general. Ones that are critical, like fixing a leaky roof, are likely to generate good returns since the home will be very unattractive without the work being done. Similarly, a loft conversion or extension which makes the useable size of the home bigger will increase a home's value in a fairly reliable way. But optional improvements like solar panels are harder to quantify. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the idea of owning a home with solar panels is still a fairly new one. It won't be like weighing up the value of an extra bathroom or a new kitchen for most buyers. Without research, most people won't know the value of a solar setup. Secondly, as you can see from our guide here, owning solar panels and managing them well does take a little effort. You need to set them up correctly to get paid for the electricity you don't use, and you may need to switch tariffs each year. It's hardly a second job, but it does take some time. Not everyone will see that as a plus. And although most homeowners spend very little time looking at their own roofs – or even roofs in general – they can divide opinion on aesthetics. Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, making a firm estimate on any improvement is difficult, and those trying to do so are often trying to sell those improvements and don't come from a place of neutrality. You can't sell the same property twice at the same time, once with panels and once without to show how much value they add. Other, bigger factors such as the state of the housing market or rising or falling interest rates will make a far bigger impact on house prices than a £7,000 solar installation. In short, these estimates have very little to back them. Most people will see cheaper electricity bills as a plus, but they may struggle to put a price on that, especially when buying a home is partly about taste and emotion, rather than pure numbers. Those expecting that an investment of one sum will boost the price of their house by more than that sum will probably be disappointed. That's because buyers who want a solar array can just get their own. Fitting them does not cause the mess or inconvenience of a new kitchen or bathroom, and they don't improve the look or feel of the home either. So you aren't doing the next owner such a massive favour. For more on this, read our guide on Are solar panels worth it? How location within the UK affects solar performance and property value It's important to remember that solar panels are not equally effective across the UK, and this can affect your ROI on the investment. Factors like roof angle and sun exposure vary by region and, crucially, so does house price growth. Southern England sees significantly higher solar yields than northern Scotland, thanks to better sun exposure. Meanwhile, homes in higher-value regions may see more uplift in absolute terms, but percentage-wise, returns are still modest. Local planning regulations or conservation area restrictions may also limit what kind of installation is allowed. What else affects the value that solar panels add to a home? While there's no guaranteed uplift in property value when getting solar panels, the following factors can make a difference: Age and condition of the solar system: newer panels are more efficient and more attractive to buyers. Presence of a battery system: homes with battery storage can reduce reliance on the grid even further, improving appeal. SEG or legacy FIT tariff details: if the home still benefits from the now-closed (and more generous) Feed-in Tariff scheme, that may increase its value. Aesthetic impact: panels integrated flush with the roofline are often more desirable than bolt-on systems. Documentation and maintenance: a well-documented system with clear records helps reassure buyers. Should I add solar panels solely to improve my home's value? In other words, spending £5,000 or £7,000 on a solar installation may well add a similar amount in value — but whether solar panels increase home value depends on many factors, from energy prices to buyer demand in your area. Even if there was a good estimate for the improvement in the value of your house that solar panels could make, you ought to think twice before using it for the same reason that movements in the UK's average house price might not apply to you. That is because your house's price might not behave like the average house's price. You could easily spend £7,000 and see your house price drop, not because of your investment but because demand in your area has fallen or the cost of borrowing has risen. Here's the most useful advice: don't buy solar panels for your home if all you want to do is improve its sale price. Do buy them if you want to cut your energy bills.
