Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Sep 15, 2011 7:56 pm Hi there, I have managed to procure a piece of property in Richmond, Vic and getting permits to develop 8 townhouses. I'm planning a boutique townhouse development and thus, the high price tag. Long story short, what would you expect in a $2m townhouse/house? Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 3Sep 15, 2011 9:30 pm quite a bit. I friend recently purchased an architecture designed house, while not huge, was double story, had a garage, 3 bedrooms and a swim spa in the small back yard. polished wood floorboards, balcony from upstairs bedrooms, stone feature walls etc. She paid 1.2mil for it. Building NBG Buckingham 46 on Property in rural Victoria my Building Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46837 Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 4Sep 15, 2011 10:17 pm Honestly, I'd expect a house with high end (maybe not the top tier of high end but at least the middle of that bracket.) appliances, top quality fittings all through. A nice courtyard style yard (it would be small I know) And probably between $600k and $1mil in cash on the kitchen bench. I honestly can't see how any townhouse in Richmond could possibly be actually worth $2mil. I think you should seriously consider lowering the price you have set in your head before you get too far into the build. I also don't see how you can set a price for a house without having built it yet. (just a personal thing) A couple of questions also. Assuming they will all be identical in size (probably not but it makes it simple for this purpose) How much land area will each of these townhouse command each? What floor area will they each have? I think for that high a price you are going to have to at a minimum combine the following: Granite (man made stone if you need to) benches all through Solar power (not a token system, one that will generate some power) Refrigerated air con with ducted heating High end floor coverings, whether its carpets, tiles or timber , they would have to be the best quality. Hardwood timber, 10mm+ tiles or pure wool carpets. Full smart wiring setup with data on wall plates in every room (not bath rooms obv) Smart design, not just squeeze X number of rooms in to a certain space. Top end insulation. I would probably also look at sound insulation between rooms like beds and living also. I would want the house to smash the 6 star rating. A lot of natural light also. Really important for that price: Good room sizes. ALL ROOMS. not just living or bedrooms but every room would want to be generous for that money. A lot will depend on position and orientation, but space is a big thing from my perspective. Wow, that's a long response, sorry. Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 6Sep 15, 2011 11:17 pm Thanks for the suggestions. I agree that room size is the big thing here. Since the minimum requirement now for efficiency is 6 stars, I guess you would expect a high end house to achieve better than that. I'm actually looking into some alternative materials for the bench top but still of the stone variety. Well, the townhouses will be a mix of 4 storey+basement and 3 storey+basement. They will all have lifts for that reason. The Block sold pretty well considering their location and the reno job itself wasn't of the highest quality to start off with. Having said that, it's not comparable with The Block as that's a reno job and this is new houses/townhouses. It is important to determine the price you want to sell for before you build as this will determine whether if the project is feasible. You shouldn't slap the price on after you have built it. I'm confident the townhouses can hit that mark or close to it as there are similar properties that sold for ~$1.5m and another which had genuine bids of up to $1.7m. Both those properties have an inferior location, no views, no basement, smaller in size and no lift. The plus point of this development is that it has uninterrupted view of the city and it's location. The size would be around ~24 sqs which is considered massive in richmond. Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 7Sep 15, 2011 11:48 pm I would never pay that kinda money but i would expect a completely autonomous dwelling that is stylish and comfortable with the highest environmental credentials available....and about 1.2 million dollars change. Are you in it to just make money or are you trying to do a worthwhile project? An honest answer to that question is to me is the starting point. There are a few archicture /building companies in Sydney doing developments with high end sustainability specs, they are getting very good returns, selling everything they build whilst creating exciting and worthy architecture. Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 8Sep 16, 2011 12:44 am I am from the other end of the country but we have built a pretty flash house here so I will include my list of essentials. (mind some have turned out to be a bit of a disaster!) * wall to ceiling tiling in all bathrooms * all bedrooms to have ensuites * flooring to be a range of materials - al paca carpet, polished concrete, timber * freestanding bath (we have a beautiful wooden made out of ash with matching benchtops) * european light fittings * double glazing * intergrated appliances * third floor seperate living apartment - we have a lounge, bedroom and kitchen in the third floor. * kitchenette * curved walls, * underfloor heating I dont know where you are building but if it is beautiful and unusual someone will fall in love with it. Would love to hear more about your ideas. PM if you want any other ideas good luck k Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 10Sep 16, 2011 1:32 pm The project has to be worthwhile financially for me as well unless I'm doing it for a laugh! LOL! But of course I want it to be unique development of the highest standard. I've currently budgeted ~600k for each townhouse/house. Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 11Sep 16, 2011 10:41 pm Unless your land is worth a lot of money I don't see how spending $600K on each townhouse will attract a sale price of $2 Million Unless your land value is of each property is near on $1.1 million (or there abouts.) Unless you are building this at some very good mates rates or with "Gear from the back of a truck" Do you think buyers will see the value in what you propose? No offence but buyers are not mugs either, why pay $2 million for a place built to a $600K spec sheet. When you can build the same thing for $600 - $700k yourself to exactly the way and layout that you want? IMO - there has to be some other Wow factor or a lot of land value to get that sort of premium return. https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=44762 My Owner builder journey extending a 1930's Bungalow Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 12Sep 16, 2011 11:16 pm Yea you've got a very legit concern. Of course they could do that if they can procure a piece of property in a location which is at the city fringe which is either an empty block (non-existant) or demolish an existing property which is under a heritage overlay. There's still a lot of costs involved other than the building costs. The figure is just a prelim fig and I'm looking for ideas to include into the development. As I've said, the location is 1st class and theres excellent views of the city (hired a scissor lift to have an actual look from site). Anymore constructive suggestions to give a $2m property the WOW factor? Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 13Sep 17, 2011 8:50 am Any consideration to making them Autonomous?? or at very least including a high degree of sustainable technologies? Green is the new black, green is the WOW factor direction that Sydney is heading. Mosman (one of the wealthier suburbs) has the highest uptake of sustainable technologies in Sydney, which is quite telling. I would consider as a minimum; Passivhaus design (or at least Passive Solar) Double glazing (integrated pelmets on all windows) A 10 kW PV grid interactive solar (or the maximum allowable) Solar hot water (gas boosted) Rain water collection system for toilet flushing, washing machines and gardens. Water wise/high star rated appliances LED Lighting throughout Green circuit GPOs on all standby clusters Some of the smart technology home energy management systems are excellent and would be on my wish list in that price bracket. My 4-yen worth. Steve Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 14Sep 17, 2011 8:51 am make sure their is parking Building NBG Buckingham 46 on Property in rural Victoria my Building Thread viewtopic.php?f=31&t=46837 Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 15Sep 17, 2011 8:53 am This is one of my fav sites that has a lot of info on such developments and the current thinking and design direction/trends. http://inhabitat.com/ Steve Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 17Sep 20, 2011 6:54 pm 2Mil for an area like Richmond..is on the higher end of the spectrum for that suburb...most reno double vic fronted houses, in a good spot with car space, pool and maybe evn rear access might not get close to that number....having said that if the townhouses with loads of space over a couple of levels with quality fittings etc comes past...i dont see why it cant achieve that number.... so here's my list...i'm thinking most buyers of such units would be young professionals, high flyers in their industry, looking to have a "city pad" with all the bells and whistles... 3m high glass walls to capture city views Pool - Self cleaning and automatic chemical balancing Select grade wide European Oak flooring or parquetry throughout and Amadora marble floors in wet areas. Atleast 4 bedrooms ... Ensuite for every bedroom, principal bathrooms with freestanding baths and flat-screen TVs + 1or 2 more powder rooms Balconied master-suite with gas log fire, mini-bar, the highest quality music and sound system plus surround sound to a large flat screen TV Principal study with floor to ceiling views beyond tall doors CBus home automation technology Foxtel, Wi-Fi, Blu-Ray DVD flat-screen TV and music to every room 3 luxury living zones Cabana complex with courtyard, endless Swim Jet pool and waterfall. Internet, Foxtel and Play Station connection 2 professional chefs’ kitchens Nothing less than Viking and Gaggenau appliances. Solar heating with gas-top-up system Atleast 4 gas log fires Pillarless windows Frameless glass balustrades World’s finest tapware and ceramics Reconstituted stone benchtops for kitchen areas Extensive fitted cabinetry Landscape Design by Paul Bangay...there's got to be a big name involved! Lift opening directly into the apartment’s main space, programmed so that only the owners of that Residence and they should be able to gain access from the basement Ducted heating and air-conditioning throughout Sub-floor hydronic heating for tiled areas Fully ducted vacuum system Security alarm Back-up solar energy 4-car basement garaging with large secure store Allocated car wash bay in the basement with drainage, pumps, tap and power Fully fibre optic cabled in preparation for “plug and play” Heavy duty carbon water filter at point of the water supply 15,000 litre water tank under the building for garden use during water restrictions Fully automated sprinkler system If you are still reading allow me to push it a little further! A Sky-Level Sunset Bar, Deck & Lounge to entertain, with leather day-beds, gourmet kitchenette, wine bar and dumb waiter! Thats a mighty first post! Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 19Sep 21, 2011 3:27 pm For a $2m property, I would expect over 1000sqm land size, with the backyard backing onto the maryibynong river. Or a grand turn of the century house in Essendon or Moonee Ponds. Richmond is not a place I would spend $2m on. Re: What do you expect in a $2m property? 20Sep 22, 2011 1:18 am While I personally wouldn't spend $2 mill for a townhouse with no land, no parking for friends, in a crazy busy location like Richmond etc, some folk will undoubtably stump up if the quality is there. I'll just be repeating the list above I'm afraid: - ICF walls - unless of course the sun won't touch the walls; then use tilt slab & insulate the inside of them. - hydronic heating - polished concrete floors - double glazed thermal break aluminium windows - Cat 5e/6a cable points in every room, HDMI chased, speaker wiring in ceiling - fancy gas log fireplace - LED lighting (no halogens!) - reverse cycle cooling in larger areas - storage, storage, storage - quality fitouts, fixtures, etc - solar panels Actually this is just what I'm including in my own house for a similar budget to what you mentioned. After spending 2 years just to get to having our plans finished I'd happily buy something rather than continue on with the endless stress & research required to owner build a bespoke house. But only if it met our criteria, location & budget. However, most high-ish end places I've looked at are crap if you know what you're looking at. All the razzle of being high end, but generally little real consideration for either thermal performance or daily living practicality. Recent place I looked at had double glazed windows but one section was double height extending up & over the roofline - impossible to keep clean or shade & had the sun streaming in & making upstairs uncomfortably hot on a Melbourne winters day - shudder to think what it'd be like in the height of summer. It had a massive underground basement/cinema room which was brilliant, but offset by a master room with no WIR & an adjacent large bedroom with a tiny robe. Kitchen didn't even have a walk in pantry. It did have hydronic panels, although in-slab would have been a better option. Typical show pony house; looked great upon first inspection, but no real thought given to how folk actually live. No bids at auction - this was a premium street/premium bayside suburb with a 1.5 million vendor bid. Whether doing it properly can command enough of a premium for you is debatable though. The cynic in me presumes there are too many muppets with too much money who don't care enough about the fine details. The optimist hopes people are learning & demanding more of their habitats. Good luck with the development. Are you saying that these consultants are involved at key-points of the building, and perform site inspects at the stages, or only after building is completed to point… 4 9010 The estate Covenants (design requirements) must be included in the land contract. If you purchased a resale block then the vender is required to provide/include a copy… 2 9194 You might be able to apply to divert the sewer at your expense. In NSW you would contact a Water services co-ordinator and they would give you advice as to whether or not… 1 12945 |