During the boom, building new felt almost as frantic as buying existing – scarce sections, rising material costs, and long waits for trades. Since then, the environment has changed.

Government schemes that supported alternative pathways into new homes, such as the Progressive Home Ownership fund, have now closed to new applicants. At the same time, the post-pandemic building surge has added more stock to the market, easing some of the pressure.

When clients ask whether to build or buy existing, we usually talk through:

• Price certainty vs design control. Off-the-plan builds can lock in a price but involve construction risk; existing homes show you exactly what you’re getting today.
• Finance differences. New builds can sometimes access looser LVR settings and different bank appetites, while existing homes involve straightforward turn-key lending.
• Timeframes. A longer build time might suit you if you’re still saving, but not if you need to be in before a school year or has other commitments.

Post-Covid, there’s no automatic “new is better” or “existing is safer”. The right answer depends on your budget, your patience, and your willingness to manage build-related uncertainty – and our job is to model both paths clearly so you can compare apples with apples.