Aug 13, 2025
🔨 Building a New Home
✅ Pros:
1. Customisation
When you build a new home, you have the unique opportunity to create a space tailored precisely to your preferences and lifestyle. This includes choosing the floor plan, room sizes, and flow of the house to fit your daily routines and future needs—whether that means extra bedrooms for a growing family, a dedicated home office, or open-plan living areas. You also get to select finishes like flooring, cabinetry, countertops, and paint colors, ensuring every detail reflects your personal taste. Beyond aesthetics, building new lets you incorporate the latest technologies, such as smart home systems, security features, and advanced heating and cooling solutions. This level of customisation often results in a home that feels truly yours from day one.
2. Lower Maintenance Costs
Newly constructed homes benefit from brand-new fittings, fixtures, roofing materials, plumbing systems, and electrical wiring, all installed to current building codes and standards. Because everything is fresh and under warranty, homeowners are less likely to face unexpected repairs or replacements in the first few years. This can translate into significant savings and less stress compared to buying an older property where deferred maintenance or hidden issues might surface. Additionally, new homes typically use more durable and efficient materials, further reducing maintenance needs over time.
3. Builder Warranties
In Australia, new homes usually come with statutory warranties that cover structural defects and faulty workmanship. These builder warranties generally last for several years, giving homeowners reassurance that any major problems will be addressed without out-of-pocket expenses. For example, there may be a six-year structural warranty and a two-year defect liability period for minor repairs. These warranties provide peace of mind, particularly when compared to purchasing an established home where the buyer assumes the risk of any undisclosed issues after settlement.
4. Government Incentives
To encourage home ownership, many Australian states offer financial incentives for first home buyers who choose to build rather than buy an existing property. These may include grants like the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), which provides a lump sum payment to eligible buyers. In addition, stamp duty concessions or exemptions can significantly reduce upfront costs. States such as Queensland, South Australia, and Victoria have specific schemes to support new builds. These incentives not only make building more affordable but also can improve your overall financial position when entering the property market.
5. Energy Efficiency
New homes are constructed to comply with Australia’s current energy efficiency and sustainability regulations, such as the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). This means better insulation, efficient windows, modern heating and cooling systems, and energy-saving appliances are incorporated from the start. Such features reduce energy consumption, lower utility bills, and minimize your environmental footprint. Over time, the savings on running costs can be substantial, and these homes often provide a more comfortable living environment, maintaining consistent temperatures and better air quality throughout the year.
6. Pristine from day one
When you build a home from the ground up, everything is brand new - no hidden problems or damage from years of previous use. Unlike established homes, which may have had multiple owners and accumulated wear over time, a newly built property gives you complete peace of mind. You can also be confident that all construction materials meet modern safety standards, with no risk of outdated hazards such as asbestos or lead-based paint.
7. Reduced buying pressure
If you have ever tried to purchase an existing property, you’ll know how intense the competition can be, with multiple buyers bidding for the same home. Building a house changes that dynamic. While you may still need to compete for a block of land, the process is generally far less cut-throat compared to the frenzy of the established housing market.
🔨 Building a New Home
❌ Cons:
1. Construction Delays
Building a new home can take longer than initially planned due to various factors beyond your control. Shortages of skilled labour can slow down progress, while adverse weather conditions — such as heavy rain or extreme heat — may halt construction temporarily. Additionally, unexpected increases in the price of building materials can push your budget higher, and delays in obtaining necessary permits or inspections can further extend your timeline. All these challenges can result in a longer wait before you can move in and higher overall costs.
2. Interim living arrangements
Since your new home won’t be ready right away, you’ll need to find temporary accommodation during the construction period. This could mean renting another property, staying with family or friends, or arranging other living solutions. These interim living arrangements add extra expenses that need to be included in your financial planning. It’s important to budget for these costs to avoid any surprises and ensure a smooth transition once your home is complete.
3. Location limitations
New housing developments are frequently located in outer suburbs or emerging regional areas. While these locations often offer more affordable land and modern amenities, they can be quite far from the city centre (CBD) or established infrastructure like schools, shopping centres, public transport, and healthcare facilities. This distance can affect your daily commute and access to services. When considering a new build, carefully evaluate whether the location meets your lifestyle needs and convenience requirements.
🏡 Buying an existing property
✅ Pros:
1. Convenience and speed
One of the biggest advantages of buying an established home is the speed and ease of moving in. Once the settlement process is complete, which typically takes a month or two, you can start living in your new home right away. This is especially beneficial if you’re working within a tight timeline or need to relocate quickly, as you won’t have to wait for months or longer for construction to finish.
2. Established neighbourhoods
Existing homes are usually found in well-developed suburbs that offer a range of amenities. These areas often feature established schools, reliable public transport, shopping centres, medical facilities, and community services — all of which contribute to a convenient and comfortable lifestyle. Buying in such neighbourhoods means you can enjoy the benefits of a mature community right from the start.
3. Character and style
Older homes often boast unique architectural details and design features that give them charm and personality. From classic facades to handcrafted woodwork or distinctive layouts, these characteristics can add warmth and individuality to a home—qualities that are difficult to recreate in new builds, which tend to follow more modern and uniform styles.
4. Landscaping & Inclusions
Many existing properties come with fully developed gardens, established trees, driveways, fences, and sometimes even household appliances like ovens or air conditioners. These inclusions can save you significant time, effort, and expense compared to starting from scratch, where landscaping and fittings need to be planned and installed separately after construction is complete.
🏡 Buying an existing property
❌ Cons:
1. Renovation or repair costs
Older homes often come with a variety of issues that may not be immediately obvious at first glance. These can include general wear and tear, outdated fixtures and fittings, or even more serious structural problems such as foundation cracks, roofing damage, plumbing leaks, or electrical wiring that no longer meets current safety standards. Because of these factors, new homeowners might face unexpected repair bills soon after moving in. Additionally, bringing an older home up to modern standards often involves significant renovations—whether it's updating the kitchen, bathrooms, or installing energy-efficient heating and cooling systems—which can be both time-consuming and costly. It's essential to factor these potential expenses into your budget when considering an older property.
2. Less efficient designs
Homes built decades ago were often designed with different priorities and technologies in mind compared to modern houses. This means older homes might lack features that improve energy efficiency, such as effective insulation, double-glazed windows, or smart thermostats. As a result, they can be more expensive to heat or cool throughout the year. The layout might also be less functional by today’s standards, with smaller kitchens, closed-off rooms, or awkward floor plans that don’t suit modern living preferences. To enjoy the conveniences and lower running costs associated with newer homes, buyers often need to invest in renovations or retrofitting, which can be an added financial and logistical challenge.
3. Competitive market
In many sought-after suburbs, the demand for homes exceeds supply, leading to highly competitive buying environments. When an older home comes on the market in these popular areas, it often attracts multiple interested buyers at once. This situation frequently results in bidding wars, where prospective buyers place increasingly higher offers in hopes of securing the property. This can push prices above the initial asking price, sometimes well beyond what the home was originally valued at. For buyers, this competition not only drives up costs but can also increase stress and pressure, making it harder to negotiate favorable terms or take time to thoroughly consider their purchase decision.
4. Higher stamp duty costs:
Buying an established home usually means paying stamp duty on the full purchase price—unless you’re a first-time buyer. When building, you typically only pay stamp duty on the land, which can save you money. The exact amount depends on the property price, so it’s important to consider this when budgeting.
💬 What should you consider when choosing to build or buy?
✅ What’s your budget?
Consider all the costs involved, not just the purchase price. If you’re building, you’ll need to factor in the price of the land, construction fees, permits, and any temporary accommodation or rent while your home is being built. Buying an established home may mean fewer upfront costs but keep in mind potential renovation expenses.
✅ How quickly do you need to move in?
Buying an existing property often allows for a faster move-in date since the home is already built and ready. Building a home can take several months or longer depending on the design and approvals, so if you need to settle quickly, buying may be the better option.
✅ Are you targeting a specific location or school zone?
If proximity to a particular school, workplace, or community is a priority, buying in an established suburb might offer more choices. Some desirable areas have limited vacant land, making new builds less feasible.
✅ Do you prefer customisation or character?
Building a new home gives you full control over the design, layout, and finishes, allowing you to tailor everything to your taste and lifestyle. On the other hand, established homes often come with unique charm, mature gardens, and established neighbourhoods that can’t be replicated in new developments.
✅ Do you qualify for government grants or incentives?
First home buyers and some builders may be eligible for grants or stamp duty concessions that can reduce costs. It’s a good idea to speak with a mortgage broker or financial advisor to understand what benefits you might qualify for and how they could influence your decision.
🧭 Need guidance? Let’s chat.
Whether you're leaning towards building or buying, it's important to understand your borrowing capacity, loan options and government incentives before making a decision.
At Select Loan and Mortgage, we compare loan products from over 25+ lenders and offer personalised advice based on your goals.
📞Let’s find the right path to your dream home.
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