With high home prices and renters battling it out for scarce properties, dual occupancy could be the key to maximising the investment you’re already sitting on, while still maintaining your current lifestyle.

If you’re a proud homeowner in a location you love then your home has probably seen you and your family through school and work as well as a pretty challenging couple of years. You don’t need to move but property prices are making you wonder if you’ll miss a golden opportunity if you don’t sell now.

The good news is that there is a way to leverage the equity you already have without saying goodbye to the neighbourhood you love. The answer? A dual occupancy home.

Interest in dual occupancy is at an all-time high, and that means now’s the time to strike. Here’s how to master what’s shaping up to be one of the year’s biggest home trends.

Right for your goals

A big part of the appeal of a dual occupancy development is making your equity work harder. When you’re an owner-occupier living in a single home, the only return you’re likely to see on that investment is if you decide to sell.

But when you replace an existing property with multiple dwellings, the potential return on your investment is increased, especially if you elect to rent the properties or sell one of the homes.

‘We chose dual occupancy to provide us with financial flexibility,’ says Oscar Stanley, a young father who built a dual occupancy in Glen Iris and ABN Group’s General Manager of Development. ‘We could access a suburb we loved, without overextending ourselves, based on selling or renting out the additional home on completion.’

Richard Hobby, our Dual Occupancy Manager, says a key priority in developing a dual occupancy should be matching your project budget to the expectations of your local buyer or renter.

Read more: Step by step guide to a dual occupancy build.

‘Make sure that the level of specification and quality and inclusions in the design reflect what people living in that suburb would expect,’ he says. ‘Looking for the lowest possible build price might seem like the right decision at the time – especially given dual occupancy developments can be pricier than their single-dwelling counterparts – but down the track, your resale or your rental return could be diminished if your property isn’t aligned with the market’s expectations.

‘We work very closely with clients to ensure we understand their investment or lifestyle goal and then make sure that their design meets their expectations, as well as that of the market.’

Right by your side

If a homeowner is considering delving into the world of dual occupancy, our team is well placed to help them meet their goals.

There’s a range of designs and specifications to choose from, with all floor plans having been developed with local area planning requirements in mind. Owners and investors can choose from a range of architecturally inspired facades and enjoy the flexibility of quality interior selections, finishes and features to personalise their new homes.

Read more: Dual occupancy Bourke 23/22 and the Yarra facade.

Our full-service offering also means site assessments, council approvals, applications, demolition and landscaping can be packaged in your new dual occupancy project – with the whole process managed by your own dedicated project manager from start to finish.

‘Look for a full-service build partner that can take away as many of the headaches as possible,’ says Richard, noting that any one of those considerations on its own could cause considerable frustration if there are bumps in the road.

Right for right now

‘It’s rarely the case that the best time to buy is in the future,’ says Richard. ‘It’s always yesterday.’

This observation is particularly true of the current market, with high home prices and rentals increasingly expensive and difficult to secure.

Oscar elaborates: ‘Dual occupancy facilitates the creation of two or more family-sized homes, which efficiently maximise your block. The end result becomes not only liveable but a commercial outcome which delivers a great return on investment.’

Read more: 7 tips for building Dual Occupancy.

If you’re a seasoned investor, downsizer, or just want to get a jump on the next evolution of the place you call home, dual occupancy might be just the ticket to realising the development potential of your land.

 

Have you found ‘The One’?

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Get in touch with a Developments Consultant today.

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