Four Tips to Help Navigate Buying New vs Renovating Decisions

May 8, 2023

Your dream home. For most people achieving their dream home will generally come down to two broad choices – buying new vs renovating their existing home . It’s a tough decision that will ultimately be driven by social, economic, and lifestyle needs. But to help make it easier, we’ve compiled a list of four things you ought to consider when grappling with the buy new vs renovate decision.

1. Your budget

Buying a home is a huge decision as well as a serious financial commitment. For many of us it is possibly the most expensive purchase we will ever make. 

There is a lot to consider when buying your home and one of the biggest decisions you will face is whether to buy new or renovate. 

When considering your financial situation, it is important to factor in the cost of renovating an existing home versus the cost of buying a new home. Buying a home may require a down payment, which can be a significant upfront cost. Additionally, mortgage payments, insurance premiums, and property taxes can add up over time.

On the flip side of the coin, renovating an existing home can also come with significant expenses. Putting aside the cost of architects, engineers, construction, insurance, and trades, you will also need to consider additional costs that may not be immediately apparent. Your decision should factor in the cost of renting a property if you and your family are unable to live in your home while it is being renovated. Aside from just the rent, there are likely to be costs associated with furniture removal and / or storage, 

You should also ask yourself whether your budget has contingency if things go wrong. From council approvals, to weather, building issues and stoppages, and a host of other associated potential problems, you need to plan for the worst to ensure you get the best. 

2. Your family’s lifestyle and needs

Ultimately, your dream home should serve your family’s lifestyle needs, not dictate them. 

Can you find a new home in a location with great schools, sports clubs, open spaces, and well established transport and social amenities? Would a new home tick all your boxes in terms of size, features, fixtures and fittings, and backyard space? Do you want to live near a beach, for example, or perhaps somewhere a bit quieter? 

On the renovating side, if your existing home ticks all your boxes in terms of location, lifestyle, and amenity, you’ll also need to consider the potential disruption to your family. For significant renovations, moving to a rental property as works progress is almost a certainty. You need to ask yourself what that will mean for your lifestyle and your hip pocket. 

3. Time – do you have it?

Buying new gives you the luxury of time to give back to yourself. Once the legal and financial side of things are taken care of, you can sit back and wait for the keys to be handed over to your brand new home. 

This is a luxury that you’re unlikely to have with significant renovations to your existing home. In addition to the time it will take to complete the renovations, you’ll need to consider whether you have the time to manage the project. 

4. Achieving your vision

A critical condition of either renovating or buying is being clear on your vision of your dream home. Ask yourself if that vision can be best achieved by renovating your existing home or buying a brand new home. Visit display villages and open homes to give you ideas while you consider your options. See what is on the market and whether it suits your social, economic, and lifestyle needs. Get to know your local housing market inside out and reach out to professionals for advice and assistance. 

Another thing you’ll need to consider if renovating your existing home, is any council restrictions and the time it will take you to have building plans approved. This can be a complicated and, at times, stressful process, so please ensure you get the right advice.  While restrictions and building approval requirements also need to be understood when building a new home, the requirements are often well-known to local new home builders, particularly in new estate’s where a variety of builders have likely built other homes.

In summing up, It is important to consider your personal needs, lifestyle, and future goals when choosing the best option for you.

Get to know your local market – you might be surprised!

The next best part about making your decision around buying new vs renovating is finding the right location to live.  The availability of land to build on is a key consideration if you wish to stay in close proximity to certain schools, shops and other places.  If this is not such an issue for you, you are moving for a new job or making a fresh start, this is not so important.

If you are looking for a new home in a suburb close to Brisbane and close to the beach that has it all, look no further than Burpengary East!

Burpengary East is well located for easy access to the Bruce Highway, the major route to both the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane CBD and Morayfield train station is just 10 minutes away offering an easy city commute.

 Homes for sale in North Brisbane can vary in affordability with Burpengary East still being very affordable. In the master planned development of North Harbour you’re never further than a short walk from one of many parks and playgrounds. More space, better amenities and a great place to live for less money than many suburbs with less amenities.

For a leafy, semi-rural suburb, Burpengary East has a surprising number of amenities. Local shopping and medical complex, “The HUB”

includes a bakery, fish and chips, bottle-o, butcher, pizza and pasta takeaway, childcare centre, spice shop, hair salon and beautician, IGA, dentist, chemist, accountant, naturopath and medical centre which is just under five minutes’ drive from North Harbour.

Burpengary East has also just welcomed a new 7-11 service station and a new child care centre.  North Harbour itself has a new café onsite offering breakfast and lunch seven days a week.

Five minutes’ drive from The Hub is Burpengary which is home to two shopping centres, The Burpengary Plaza and Burpengary Central. Burpengary is a growing town which retains a comfortable country feel with library, community centre and a thriving high street, yet has all the major supermarkets available as well as a brand-new Kmart and heaps of local shops, gyms and other amenities. A host of new restaurants have also opened recently adding to the already plentiful local eatery choices including Basil & Vine Italian, The Burrito Bar, Thai and Sushi among the plentiful options on offer. YUM!

North Harbour in Burpengary East is also just 10 minutes from Costco, Ikea, Westfield North Lakes and Morayfield shopping centres. Both areas have excellent facilities and include all the major stores from Spotlight to Harvey Norman, TKMaxx and more.

North Harbour itself offers amenities which are truly 21st-century with access to the fastest residential broadband connection in Australia and reticulated natural gas to every home.

North Harbour differs from similarly sized southeast Queensland developments in that on completion it will offer a huge 1000 acres of open space and parklands (even larger than Central Park in New York) including environmental corridors, river access and a unique $3m Heritage Park.

This 1000 acres will include walking and bike tracks, lots of trees (over 60,000 have already been planted) and plenty of play equipment for young and older kids, BBQs, artworks and picnic areas as well as exercise equipment.

If you’re into sport, then Burpengary East should definitely be on your must-see list! Burpengary is home to one of the country’s best AFL facilities and we have local teams and groups for pretty much any sport or activities you like – soccer, all rugby codes, AFL, swimming, cricket, netball, martial arts, craft, scouts…and many more.

Choosing between renting and buying can be a difficult decision. While there are financial considerations to keep in mind, it ultimately comes down to future goals. If you desire stability and are looking to invest in your future, then buying a home at North Harbour can provide a long-term solution. 

If you are keen to find more information about living at North Harbour and our available land for sale, house and land packages and terrace homes we have plenty to offer on our website and other channels: 

• YouTube Channel: We have over 100 videos online here and add more every week  
• Blogs: We have more than 200 informative blogs on our website 
• Facebook: All our latest updates are posted on Facebook 

Contact Us

For more information please call (07) 5433 1111 or email . Our Sales Centre is open daily, 10am-5pm, located on the corner of Fraser Drive and Buckley Road, Burpengary East. 

And, if required, we can work through the buying process with you by phone, email and electronic document transfer.