REGARDLESS OF WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, THERE ARE NUMEROUS OPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR POTENTIAL NEW HOME BUYERS.

With summer well and truly in full force and the return to work imminent, people often have a good look at their lives and, in some cases, make the New Year’s resolution to start looking for a new place to live.

With the average time people staying in the same home in Western Australia rising from 5.9 years to 7.9 years since the GFC, the chances are that you may not have looked at buying a house recently. You may be surprised at the change since 2008 as there is now a much larger range of lot sizes, lot types and dwellings on the market. Importantly this means that there is also a broader range of prices with two bedroom turn-key entry level pricing starting from around $280,000.

People move for many reasons, such as their current home is too small for a growing family, or maybe too big now that the kids have left home (for the third time). Whatever your reason, the first few months of the year have traditionally seen strong sales as developers and builders look to make a solid start in the new calendar year.

Whilst the display village is often the starting point for people considering a new home, having a chat to your financial institution is often a wise first step.

With the smaller blocks that are popular at the moment it is often a good idea to then find the lot that you want as not every house design will fit on every lot. Check your lot carefully for any encumbrances that would impact on where you would locate a building on a lot.

Once you know your building envelope and your budget you can then go and have a chat to your builder, they will be able to give you a clear indication of your options for the lot. Builders will often have several elevation options (what the front of the house looks like) which will help meet any design restrictions for a particular development.

There are also plenty options for apartments and units with a lot of smaller product coming to the market. Even bedsitters are starting to re-emerge on the market after a long hiatus.

The change has not only been market driven, policy changes and the government’s commitment to affordable housing has seen sizes shrinking.

Regardless of what you are looking for, there are plenty of options available this summer, one of which is bound to be perfect for you.