Every dog has its day, but not every dog has its own house.
A leading property agent in Brisbane has said she found more than a third of home buyers in her area were prioritising their pets above all else when deciding where to buy their new place.
Place New Farm agent Alex Rutherford said that number sat at around 35 per cent of her clientele, with that percentage having increased over the past two years.
“During Covid, a lot of people did buy pets,” she said. “They bought them in their own apartments, just for comfort – for somebody to be with them.”
Many homeowners like Steve Smith and Rob Bourke are making it a priority to find a home that’s paw-fect for their pets. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail
“[Now] people with pets, they will make decisions based on a purchase around how it caters for their pets, whether it be dogs or cats.”
Ms Rutherford said many of her more financially secure clients would regularly ask questions about how a home can benefit their pet.
These can include questions about ventilation, park accessibility and green space, preferring public spaces with “easy maintenance”.
“Walking parks, outdoors, somewhere they can go to – that seems to be the most important part that I’m seeing, certainly from that type of buyer,” she said.
This fetching border collie is named Pip: a rescue dog from NSW who had a close call when jumping out of his owners’ apartment window.
Mr Bourke and Mr Smith knew Pip deserved a safer home with more access to the outside. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail
One such client is Rob Bourke, who bought his home in Windsor specifically for his dog Pip.
Pip is a border collie originally from a sheep farm south of Wagga Wagga. He was found and taken in as a rescue by Mr Bourke, along with his partner Steve Smith.
But the couple decided to move to a house when the dog jumped out of a window from their first-floor apartment.
“He’d pushed [the window] up with his nose, had a leap of faith and jumped from the window out into the garden,” he said.
“To this day, you can still see a metre hole in the hedge where he landed … after that, we were like, ‘we better get him a backyard’.”
58 Le Geyt St, Windsor – the home the couple are now selling. Moving south to Victoria, they’re hoping Pip will be furry happy with the chance to play on acreage land.
Their new house allowed Pip to have a little more room in the backyard, along with windows to expose him to more of the outside from a safe space.
“My dog’s happiness is important,” Mr Bourke said. “[Border collies] are pretty active dogs, so having a piece of land for him to run around in and sniff is pretty important.”
Mr Bourke is now selling his Windsor house at 58 Le Geyt St, needing to move to Victoria for his partner’s work.
For this happy couple, being in the doghouse isn’t so bad. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail
Intending to buy acreage property out of the city, Mr Bourke said it was a chance to give Pip more space to walk and play
“I think [you want] a place where your dog has freedom of movement to go in and outside when they want,” he said. “And then that way, you’re not tired. Say you’re living in an apartment – you have to come back constantly to let them go out for a walk.”
“If you buy the right place with a dog door, they can be more self-sufficient and happier.”
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