New kitchens and living rooms: Lockdowns boost home renovations
![deck-renovation-australia](https://cdn.mozo.com.au/images/atwood/12995/deck-renovation-australia.jpg)
As anyone who has recently walked around their neighbourhood will be able to attest to, there seems to be no shortage of home renovations going on at the moment. At least, the number of utes parked in streets and scaffolding on houses would point towards that.
And according to the 2021 Houzz & Home Report, that’s exactly what’s happening.
Released last month, the report revealed that Australians have jumped at the chance to renovate their homes over the past year, with the median figure being spent on renovations increasing by 5% to $21,000 over that period.
Interestingly, managing director of Houzz ANZ, Tony Been, says that the pandemic and resulting lockdowns have actually proved the catalyst for plenty of owners to start renovations.
“While the pandemic caused initial concern for the residential renovation industry, many homeowners finally had the time and financial means to move forward with long awaited projects in the past year,” he says.
“This pent up demand, along with long-standing market fundamentals empower homeowners to continue investing in their current homes.”
As Been notes, access to time and money were the major reasons cited by renovators for being able to start work - 41% of respondents said that they had wanted to renovate all along but finally had the time to do so, while 35% said that they had entered a financial position that allowed them to renovate.
Kitchens renos top priority list
So what are Australians actually renovating?
For a third straight year Houzz’s research found that kitchens were the most popular area of focus, with 24% of respondents to their survey reporting that they had conducted kitchen renovations. The median amount being spent on kitchen renovations jumped too, rising 33% to $20,000 in 2020.
Kitchens were followed by renovations made to living rooms (20%), main bathrooms (18%), laundries (18%) and second bathrooms (16%).
While Houzz found that 72% of renovations were focused on the inside the home, alterations to outdoor spaces like gardens, as well as to decks, patios and fences all increased over the past year.
How are renos being funded?
With a median price tag of $21,000 renovations aren’t cheap, but when it comes to funding them, it appears that most Australians rely on one source: cash/savings. Houzz found that over four in five Australian renovators (81%) used their cash savings to fund projects, making it the most popular funding source.
The second most popular was credit cards (13%), followed by cash from a previous home sale (12%), cash made available by a home loan refinance (10%) and a gift/inheritance (6%).
When it comes to funding, one factor that can’t be discounted from the recent renovation boom is the impact of the HomeBuilder scheme which offered cash grants of up to $25,000 for new home builds as well as renovations (valued between $150,000 and $750,000).
While the scheme has now come to an end, it appears that many would-be renovators did make use of it, as Treasury figures from June 2021 show that 25,158 people applied for a grant for the purpose of renovating.
RELATED: The best way to fund your home renovation
Been thinking about making renovations to your own home? Check out our handy home renovation hub for a range of expert guides which walk through everything from ways to add value to your home to tips for making sustainable renovations.
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5.69
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6.34
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$2,899
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5.69
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6.34
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$0
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$0.00
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no
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5.90
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$2,995
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5.99
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5.90
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$0
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5.99
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6.02
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$300
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5.99
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6.34
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$2,995
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5.99
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6.34
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$250
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$250.00 yearly
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6.01
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6.14
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$3,001
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- Interest rate
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6.01
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6.14
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$134
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$10.00 monthly
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$350.00
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Neat Home Loan
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- Interest rate
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6.09
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- Comparison rate
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6.11
%
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- Initial monthly repayment
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$3,027
Competitively-priced variable rate loan. Ideal for owner occupiers and investors. No service fees to pay. Make free extra repayments and redraws. Flexible repayment schedule available.
- Interest rate
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6.09
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- Comparison rate
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6.11
%
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- Upfront fees
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$250
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$0.00
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yes - free
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no
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6.09
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- Comparison rate
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6.13
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- Initial monthly repayment
-
$3,027
Refinancers or first home buyers pay no monthly or annual fees. Up to $3,000 cashback when you complete your home loan application online. $2,000 cashback on loans ≥$250K; or $3,000 cashback on loans ≥$500K. LVR ≤80%. T&Cs and credit criteria apply.
- Interest rate
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6.09
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- Comparison rate
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6.13
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- Upfront fees
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$595
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$0.00
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yes - fees apply
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Basic Home Loan
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- Principal & Interest
- Interest rate
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6.14
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Variable
- Comparison rate
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6.16
%
p.a.
- Initial monthly repayment
-
$3,043
Enjoy a low rate home loan with $0 application fee and $0 ongoing fees. Flexibility to split your loan and set different repayment types. Fee free redraw from your loan using online banking. Flexible ways to repay. 40% Deposit required.
- Interest rate
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6.14
%
p.a.
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6.16
%
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- Upfront fees
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$350
- Ongoing fees
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$0.00
- Discharge fee
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$400.00
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yes - free
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no
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Flex Home Loan
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6.14
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6.38
%
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- Initial monthly repayment
-
$3,043
Competitive variable rate. Multiple offset accounts available. Borrowers can also make extra repayments. Redraw facility available. Simple online application process. 40% deposit required.
- Interest rate
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6.14
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6.38
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p.a.
- Upfront fees
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$250
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$250.00 yearly
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$300.00
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Offset Home Loan
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- Principal & Interest
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6.14
%
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Variable
- Comparison rate
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6.39
%
p.a.
- Initial monthly repayment
-
$3,043
Ability to open up to 10 offset accounts per loan account. Fast online application. Linked Debit Mastercard® with fee-free access at ATMs across Australia. Package a credit card with your home loan and the annual card fee will be waived (T&Cs apply). 40% deposit required.
- Interest rate
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6.14
%
p.a.
Variable
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6.39
%
p.a.
- Upfront fees
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$350
- Ongoing fees
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$248.00 yearly
- Discharge fee
-
$400.00
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yes - free
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yes - free
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yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
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Basic Home Loan
- Fixed
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- Interest rate
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6.25
%
p.a.
Fixed 3 years
- Comparison rate
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6.20
%
p.a.
- Initial monthly repayment
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$3,079
No upfront or ongoing fees. Free extra repayments and redraw facility. Option to earn Qantas points. Min 30% deposit required. Borrow up to $10,000,000.
- Interest rate
-
6.25
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p.a.
Fixed 3 years
- Comparison rate
-
6.20
%
p.a.
- Upfront fees
-
$350
- Ongoing fees
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$0.00
- Discharge fee
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$400.00
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yes - free
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no
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Offset Home Loan
- Fixed
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- Interest rate
-
6.25
%
p.a.
Fixed 3 years
- Comparison rate
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6.42
%
p.a.
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-
$3,079
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6.25
%
p.a.
Fixed 3 years
- Comparison rate
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6.42
%
p.a.
- Upfront fees
-
$350
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$248.00 yearly
- Discharge fee
-
$400.00
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-
yes - up to $10,000 p.a.
- Redraw facility
-
yes - free
- Offset account
-
yes
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 70.00%
- Minimum borrowing amount
- $150,000
- Maximum borrowing amount
- $10,000,000
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- Fixed
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- Principal & Interest
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- Owner Occupier
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Fixed Rate
- Owner Occupier
- Principal & Interest
- <80% LVR
- Interest rate
-
6.54
%
p.a.
Fixed 2 years
- Comparison rate
-
7.10
%
p.a.
- Initial monthly repayment
-
$3,174
Enjoy up to $3000 cashback for eligible first home buyers and $2000 cashback for refinancers on eligible home loans with the ANZ Fixed Rate Home Loan. Get the security of repayment certainty with a competitive locked in rate. No ongoing fees to pay. Offset account on 1-year fixed loans ($10/month fee applies). Interest-only payments allowed.
- Interest rate
-
6.54
%
p.a.
Fixed 2 years
- Comparison rate
-
7.10
%
p.a.
- Upfront fees
-
$160
- Ongoing fees
-
$0.00
- Discharge fee
-
$160.00
- Extra repayments
-
yes - free up to to lesser of 5% of original fixed loan amount, or $5,000 each year
- Redraw facility
-
no
- Offset account
-
Optional - $10 per month - 1 year fixed term only
- Maximum loan to value ratio
- 80.00%
- Minimum borrowing amount
- $20,000
- Maximum borrowing amount
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- Type of mortgage
- Fixed
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