Inner west Sydney renovation trends for single dwellings continues: HTW residential

The inner west region of Sydney comprises a vast range of property types, from older character dwellings through to modern apartment buildings, according to the latest Herron Todd White residential report.

The valuation firm took a look at whether HomeBuilder and other stimulus has bolstered the demand for vacant land and new builds in markets around Australia.

Many of the older dwellings have some level of heritage overlay under local planning regulations. These regulations are generally not too restrictive and mostly relate to maintaining the façade of the property to keep it in line with the heritage style of the area.

Due to this, the majority of renovation work is either internal or extending the property to the rear or a first floor, the report noted.

"We have recently noticed an increase in requests for valuations for the purpose of applying for the New South Wales Home Builder Grant.

"As per information from Revenue NSW, a valuation is required to show the value of the property (house and land) in the three months before commencement of renovation," the valuation firm said.

A recent example of this was an enquiry on an older style terrace house in Enmore, the report noted.

The property was purchased in 2014 for approximately $1 million and the owner of the property required a valuation to determine whether the current value (prior to renovation) would be less than or equal to $1.5 million in order to meet the eligibility requirements for the New South Wales Home Builder Grant.

"Notwithstanding wider economic conditions and the COVID-19 pandemic, we anticipate that this trend of renovating single dwellings will continue throughout the remainder of 2020 and into 2021," the valuation firm said.

The report suggests some of the key elements that may might drive the renovation demand include: relatively cheaper building rates than in recent years; record low interest rates; government stimulus packages; tax incentives (in some situations); and the continued preference to renovate the home rather than upgrade or downsize in these unprecedented times.