Is now the right time to build or renovate your home?

Learn about what you need to be aware of before deciding if now is the right time for you to build or renovate.

And see what tips I have to overcome specific challenges currently happening in projects, so you can manage your risk and avoid potential pitfalls.

Hello! This is episode 229, and I thought it might be a good opportunity to answer a common question I’ve been getting a lot lately which is this:

“With the way the industry is right now, with the price rises, and everyone so busy, is now the right time to do my project? Should I be starting my renovation or new build, or should I wait until things calm down a bit?”

I don’t often do time-specific episodes here on the “Get it Right” podcast, as I like this information to be something that homeowners can get help from at any time. 

However, we are in some pretty unusual times, and so I thought it might be helpful to discuss it here. 

And as I’ve also been discussing HOME Method in the last couple of episodes, I thought that having this conversation with you about current scenarios and what to be aware of, will also give you a good insight into the types of conversations we get the opportunity to have in HOME Method. 

Because that’s what happens in HOME Method, and especially happens during our regular Q & A sessions. 

I’m often sharing info on specific industry news, or things to be aware of, and knowledge I have from my network with members, and homeowners who are dealing with this in real time are also sharing with each other their own learnings and discoveries along their project journey.

Now, let’s dive in.

One of the amazing things I love about having businesses like I do is that it puts me in connection with lots of other people in my industry. 

Inside Undercover Architect, I get to speak to other architects and designers and suppliers in the industry, and of course, get to connect with a lot of homeowners. And inside Live Life Build, I’m in direct contact with a lot of awesome builders. 

These connections help me learn a lot about what is going on in our industry on a regular basis, in many locations throughout Australia, and also overseas.

And these connections mean I get to have regular conversations about projects, prices, timelines, challenges, and the general nature of the industry. 

It’s such a great part of my work, and I really love it – especially as I don’t do projects myself anymore, and don’t get to stand on construction sites each week. I do miss that, but having these connections into this industry I love certainly does fill the gap.

Now, if you’ve been thinking about renovating or building, or your project is already underway, in the design phase, or even further along – you would have been living under a rock if you weren’t aware of the price rises, the issues with material availabilities and deliveries, the push out on timelines and the general challenges in the industry.

And if, like many homeowners I speak to, you may have this question:

“With everything going on, is now the right time to start my project?”

And this is often accompanied by 

• “will the prices go down?”
• “will things in the industry calm down”
• “should I wait until later this year or next year and do my project then?”

As a great article recently published in The Fifth Element at the end of January stated:

“Making any sort of prediction in these uncertain times is an activity fraught with risk. A prediction that may have appeared insightful at the outset of the year, may well be proven to be soon misguided if not hopelessly wrong.”

I’ve heard from builders that they believe things will ‘calm down’ by the end of the year. I’ve heard from other builders that they believe we’ve still got a lot of pain to go through, and things aren’t slowing down anytime soon. And everything in between those extremes.

At the moment companies across the industry are advising of impending price rises of anywhere between 4% and 38%. And many of those companies have already had significant price rises over the past 12 and 24 months, so these price rises are compounding.

Along with that, we’re seeing totally unpredictable changes to supply chains, timelines, freight costs and all the associated parts of getting products from where they’re made to the construction site they’re needed on. 

Please understand I’m not telling you this to completely stomp all over your renovating and building dreams. 

As someone who is also thinking about a home renovation during these times, I know it can feel demoralising to hear this information, and feel like your project is just getting further and further out of reach … and why didn’t you do it three years ago when you first started thinking about it?!

Yep, 20:20 hindsight is a killer.

So, what does this mean for you and your project?

Should you wait? 

Should you just bite the bullet, strap yourself in for a bumpy ride, and keep going? 

Or should you just forget the whole idea altogether?

Listen to the episode now.

RESOURCES:

Learn about the risks associated with supplying your own fixtures and fittings inside your project >>> Episode 198 and Episode 199 (and each has a downloadable transcript)

Want to work on something productive even though you don’t plan to kick off your project for a while? Check out the 5 part mini-sode series >>> “Home Design: 5 Steps Before You Begin”

Access my free “Your Project Plan” online workshop and awesome bonuses now >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/projectplan

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> https://undercoverarchitect.com/courses/the-home-method/