Renovation Costs on the Rise

Archicentre, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects expects that renovations and extension costs and new home costs could increase by 2% over the next six months.

However, continuing low interest rates still make renovating an extremely attractive proposition for home owners wishing to increase their living space and value of their properties.

Robert Caulfield

Releasing its spring edition of the Archicentre Cost Guide, Archicentre's Managing Director Robert Caulfield said the raft of Federal and State Government stimulus packages including new school buildings, first home buyer grants and insulation rebates have begun to have a substantial impact on activity levels within the building industry.

"Following a drop in the volume of construction and a drop in costs by up to 5% in some sectors in the first half of this year as predicted, Archicentre has begun to see increases in building volume and slight increases in the cost of some building materials.

"The rates for repair and maintenance costs in this guide remain unchanged from the winter edition, however, there is a slight increase in the costs of renovations and extensions."

Mr Caulfield said with rising water and energy costs across Australia people are increasingly focusing on having sustainable features included in their Archicentre Design Reports.

"The Renovation or New Home Design Reports which are carried out on site with home owners by an architect are a cost effective first step where home owners sort out the major features of their renovation or home before moving to detailed plans or trying to carry out expensive adjustments whilst building."

Mr Caulfield said Archicentre's Guide to Sustainability including current costs of common water and energy saving features is one of the most popular downloads on the Archicentre website.

The Archicentre Spring Cost Guide is available for download at http://www.archicentre.com.au/pdf//09springcostguide.pdf

www.archicentre.com.au

Media Enquiries:
Robert Caulfield Managing Director Archicentre (03) 9819 4577 Mobile: 0412 381 306
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications (03) 9818 5700 Mobile: 0417 329 201

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