Cairns born and raised for the majority of my life, I did have a bit of a detour via Brisbane
Cairns born and raised for the majority of my life, I did have a bit of a detour via Brisbane for a couple of years as a child (the early 2000s), living in sunny Morningside. At the time, it was a fairly low-key suburb, lots of old queenslanders and little cottages, with the odd townhouse starting to spring up here and there.
Fast forward 20 years, and I don’t think I could recognise much beyond my old school, with street after street replaced with units, townhouses and new homes, and a median house price enough above $1M as to plant what felt like a pretty blue-collar suburb firmly into the aspirational box.
Closer to home, its been a long time since the likes of Digger and Lake Street’s Queenslanders met the bulldozer but as demand for housing in premium areas continues to grow, the “knockdown” is becoming a more viable option once more. Rather than unit blocks rising in their stead though, its far more common today to see either a single luxury home or upmarket duplex rise in their place – this isn’t your parent’s idea of a duplex though (no pointed block or open carports here!) but rather a fully fledged 3 or 4 bedroom home with all the mod-cons, but a shared wall and a more compact backyard.
By no means is every block or every suburb ripe for the tear-it-down-and-start-again approach. With a high demand for housing both among owner occupiers and tenants, even ugly ducklings still have value – a serviceable house could still be worth $400,000 - $500,000 depending on the suburb, so starting with that price (plus demolition costs), you can find yourself with a very expensive block of land before a new block is laid. Ideally, its homes in very poor condition or those that are at the verge of being uneconomical to update which are the ones to look for – as the premium paid to get a brand new outcome is reduced and it’s a bit easier to get the head to follow the heart with your plans. It’s a bit like the difference between gutting a rotting kitchen that NEEDS doing vs taking out a $50,000 kitchen to put in a $75,000 one.
If you’ve decided that this is the right path for you, what should you look for? Start at the bottom with checking the Q100 level on council mapping – this will determine whether the block (minus its existing house) will be build-ready or need some topping up for heights. From there, get a solid estimate on removal costs and make sure that the cost of the NEXT home can be locked in (within reason). This can be an expensive exercise so its definitely one to line your ducks up before you pull the trigger, and not after.