New NSW rules could drive the price of a home up by $40,000
New South Wales home builders are warning that the implementation of higher thermal performance and energy standards will significantly increase the cost of new home constructions.
The Housing Industry Association, which represents residential home builders, estimates that these new standards could raise the price of off-the-shelf home designs by $15,000 to $40,000 due to the added expenses of double-glazed windows and thicker insulation, according to a report by The Australian.
These upgraded standards align with a national code that was agreed upon by ministers last year. In response to mounting pressure, the Minns Labor government introduced a nine-month transition period in August. This means that homes for which building contracts were signed before Oct. 1 will have an additional nine months until the end of next June to meet the new standards, The Australian reported.
The government argues that these higher standards will ultimately lead to lower energy bills and reduced carbon emissions. However, Darren Ingram, the chief operating officer of home-building company Campbell Property Group, expressed concerns over the changes.
“There’s two aspects to how these changes will affect business,” Ingram told The Australian. “One is the uncertainty of what is required to comply: the tools required to do an assessment, it’s still not complete. The other is the additional cost to our customers based on the guides that we’ve had and based on assessments we’ve been able to do.”
Ingram said that the additional expenses could amount to an increase of $20,000 to $30,000 for a double-story home, a type of home that his company primarily builds. Ingram also stressed the challenges posed by rising interest rates, decreased borrowing capacity, and the hyperinflation of building costs over the past three years.
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Brent Fitzpatrick, from Central Coast-based Fabric Architecture, said that the new standards may require alterations to home designs, such as reducing the size of windows.
“The heating and cooling loads are increased,” he told The Australian. “The glazing layout, a massive impact on homeowners. They might have to give up on floor-to-ceiling windows, different to the way their neighbour’s house was designed.”
David Bare, HIA NSW executive director, said that new-home builders will have to pass on the increased costs to potential buyers.
However, Planning Minister Paul Scully dismissed the criticism, asserting that these changes have been anticipated for over three years and that the last BASIX (Building Sustainability Index) change occurred 14 years ago.
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