House building

[christelle]

I was driving around and thought somebody would be interested to see how they build houses here in oz.

They use steal or wood to start off with the frame , then build wooden panels and then bricks on the outside of the houses .

[Sam]

The way new houses are built is very strange indeed. What is even more puzzling to me is that none of the old houses and too little of the new ones face north with big windows to let the winter sun in. Where is the logic in that? Excuse my ignorance but finding a house for sale with these qualities is very difficult.

Sunflower

[Bob]

If you build a house in Australia, you'll find all the older houses, especially those built before WW2, are the traditional double brick walled homes.

If you like those sort of houses, you can still ask for one to be built, but you'll pay a premium on the building price, because most houses are knocked up quickly and cheaply with a wooden or steel frame onto which Gyprock panelling is fastened and painted over to make the inside "walls".

A single brick wall is put up on the outside for weather protection.

This sort of place is called the "brick veneer" home.

It came about as an economy measure during WW2 and just stuck around in Australia ever since.

That doesn't mean you have to build that way.

I've built my house with bricks made out of mud!

The interior walls are wooden framed and timber lined mainly.

It'll see me and my kids and their kids out.

[Cindylou]

What is even more puzzling to me is that none of the old houses and too little of the new ones face north with big windows to let the winter sun in. Where is the logic in that?

Sunflower

That was the first thing we noticed in Perth, too. The houses are all built facing the street with no regard for the aspect. Along the river in Rossmoyne there are really expensive houses all facing west, with large windows for the view which the owners have then had to cover up to avoid the harsh glare from the setting sun!

Odd

[matman]

That was the first thing we noticed in Perth, too. The houses are all built facing the street with no regard for the aspect. Along the river in Rossmoyne there are really expensive houses all facing west, with large windows for the view which the owners have then had to cover up to avoid the harsh glare from the setting sun!

Odd

We have noticed this as well in Melbourne - when we bought it was essential for us to have a North facing aspect - most people I spoke to did not even care or think about that - they were more concerned with the view they would get.

Not sure if this is a generalisaiton or just me personally, but we purchased a property a few years back and the following stood out for me and seems consistent with the way homes are built here in Aus.

Coming from Jhb - it appeared to me that the value is in the house because of the expense of building a home in double brick etc and that land is cheap. Whereas in Aus we found this to be the opposite - Land is expensive and relatively speaking it can be inexpensive to build as most houses are single brick and built with pre-fabricated steel or wooden frames. The first time I heard this it sounded totally weird - Believe it or not, but people will buy a house here in Aus (perfectly decent home to live in - not a derelict or anything) and proceed to knock the house down and build a new one. Because land is expensive people will buy in a great location and buy a house they dont really want and knock it down and build there dream home.

Also the other thing to think about is the mortgage rate - although in recent years it has climbed from the lows of 4% to above 6% Again coming from S.A. where we were paying at one stage above 20% although when we had left in 2001 it was about 13%. What this means is that you can actually purchase something more expensive as your monthly payments will be lower. We got caught out a bit by this when we bought our first home. First off we had sold our house in S.A. but when we looked to buy here the sale of our house did not even cover the cost of the land we were buying - never mind we still had to build a house. Seemed like we could not buy, but once we did our sums it was the exact opposite - did not help that exchange rate worked against us a that time when we brought our money over.

In my opinion dont rush to buy property as soon as you get over here - settle in, get a feel for the land, make sure that where you are is exactly where you want to settle. We first arrived in Sydney and have now settled in Melbourne. Best thing we did as opportunity presented itself after 2yrs of being in Aus and for me I am now living my retirement, however will have to wait a few more years till I can afford to retire - maybe 10or15yrs

Interesting statistics - even though I live on a golf estate and you would expect most homeowners to be golfers - less than 20% of homeowners are currently golfers - many people preferring to buy the lifestyle.

Caveat - I am not a finance person, so it is imperative that you do consult professional help when you make that decision to purchase.

Rgds

Matt