Huge spend on renovations in Geelong as owners stay home

Now: 78 Burdoo Drive, Grovedale, sold for $750,000 this week after a full renovation was completed this year.

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Geelong homeowners splashed a record amount this year on renovating their homes, new figures show.

More than $268m was spent on major additions and alterations to homes in the 2024 financial year across Geelong, the Bellarine Peninsula and Surf Coast, the Housing Industry Association analysis reveals.

The amount spent on upgrading homes in the past year eclipsed by $20m what people spent during the Covid lockdown 2021 financial year, when the then-Morrison Government handed out $25,000 for eligible renovations through the HomeBuilder scheme.

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While the research showed the renovation boom from the Covid era was over, the escalating cost of hiring trades and purchasing building products was reflected in the higher spending on renovations.

Coastal homeowners have lashed out the most, including Great Ocean Road towns from Anglesea to Lorne, and Torquay and Jan Juc recording a combined total of $70m.

The three-bedroom house at 3 Eagle Avenue, Anglesea, has hit the market after the kitchen and ensuite were recently renovated.

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The three-bedroom house at 3 Eagle Avenue, Anglesea, has hit the market after the kitchen and ensuite were recently renovated.

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In Geelong, Newtown homeowners spent more than $23m on renovations and extensions, just ahead of the figure recorded in clutch of nearby suburbs including Geelong West and Hamlyn Heights.

Other renovation hot spots included around $11m in Geelong, East and South Geelong and separately in Belmont.

The figures counted the total value of renovations that required a permit, so doesn’t account for more modest makeovers or people tackling do-it-yourself projects.

The renovated, three-bedroom beach house at 20 Dorman St, Lorne has rear pedestrian access to North Lorne beach. It’s on the market for $2.45m.

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The renovated, three-bedroom beach house at 20 Dorman St, Lorne has rear pedestrian access to North Lorne beach. It’s on the market for $2.45m.

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Whitford, Newtown agent Heidi Trempel said local builders revealed that price pain for renovators had meant a downturn in projects.

But she said more homeowners were still opting to renovate instead of selling and trading up due to a lack of choice of higher-end homes available on the market.

“The increase (in cost) is insane, but we have had some chats with local builders and contractors of late that are saying they’re starting to come down a little bit because everyone’s starting to pull back on doing renos,” Ms Trempel said.

Ready to move: This renovated “old Torquay” house at 51 Riverside Drive is actually two homes in one and is listed for sale with $2.1m price hopes.

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While building costs appear to have peaked, renovated homes were the most in-demand on the market today as people looked to avoid the cost of doing any work, Ms Trempel said.

“Previously, unrenovated properties were selling really well, like hot cakes. Almost like people wanted to be on The Block,” she said.

Now, a fear of not being able to find a new home was driving people to renovate their own place instead of selling.

“They’re scared they won’t find anything else,” she said.

Renovated: Jellis Craig, Geelong agent Jeff Begg has set price hopes at $1.595m to $.,695m for this four-bedroom house at 384 Shannon Ave, Newtown.

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Renovated: Jellis Craig, Geelong agent Jeff Begg has set price hopes at $1.595m to $.,695m for this four-bedroom house at 384 Shannon Ave, Newtown.

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But most people in the market to buy were steering clear of tackling a renovator’s delights in a market where homes that need even a little bit of work were a turn-off, Ms Trempel said.

“It’s always cheaper the buy something renovated than to do a renovation. At the end of the day a lot of people don’t have time, by also the amount of money they’ve been quoted.”

HIA senior economist Tom Devitt said renovation numbers were likely to rise as homes built during the early 2000s surpassed the 20-year timeline under which most properties receive a major update.

Housing Industry Association senior economist Tom Devitt.

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The HIA figures show the big costs for home renovations and extensions are still kitchens and bathrooms.

Their latest surveys found the typical kitchen renovation in Victoria now costs $33,600, up from $25,500 in 2020, with the value of built-in appliances installed in new homes has almost doubled pre-pandemic levels.

Bathrooms have gone from $23,667 to $27,714 in the same time frame.

New data from tradie marketplace Hipages reveals the platform has recorded a 10.4 per cent increase in job requests from homeowners in the past year.

Hipages vice-president of marketing Nick Ellery.

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There has also been a 24 per cent jump in Ikea kitchen installations, and a 6 per cent increase in extension and addition jobs.

The data found 67 per cent of homeowners plan to undertake a home reno or repair jobs in the next 12 months, and nearly half intend to spend more than $7000 doing it.

Hipages vice president of marketing Nick Ellery said the figures showed an increase in optimism among homeowners.

“Homeowners who might have been putting off some projects … for quite a long period of time … we are seeing now that they’re more likely to do those jobs.”

RENOVATION RECORDS

Source: HIA, ABS. Total value of alterations and additions in 2024 financial year for SA2 suburb areas.