Keeping a roof over your head has never been more expensive in Australia and every dollar has an impact on your buying plans, home loan and housing.

Housing affordability has all but disappeared as the great Australian dream of the white picket fence becomes an impossibility for new home buying hopefuls circling the market.

The rising cost of home ownership are forcing first home buyers to contemplate alternative options, while home owners already in the market are having to make sacrifices to keep a roof over their head.

Various research reports reveal that housing costs, home ownership and renting are among the biggest concerns for many Australians, creating significant stress for households.

The ongoing costs of owning a home are significant. Mortgage repayments or rent, council rates, insurance, renovations, utility bills and body corporate fees if you live in a unit or apartment have mostly risen in the last few years. Renovation and maintenance costs are also increasingly expensive.

Let’s break down the true cost of keeping a roof over your head in 2025.

Earnings

More Australians are working than ever before due to the cost of living pressures on households.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that the average wage in Australia is $106,236.00 per year, which equates to a $2,043 per week for a full-time adult in November 2024 minus taxes, which is up 4.5% on the previous year. Of course, some households may have one person working part-time.

The average household gross income is $121,108, while the top 20% of households earn 48% of all income, according to research by McCrindle.

Mortgage repayments

The PropTrack Home Price Index shows that the average cost of home ownership at a national level in Australia is $805,000, which is up 3.7% on the year prior.

According to the Mortgage Choice repayments calculator, your mortgage repayments would set you back around $4,253 per month on a $750,000 20-year loan. That’s around $1,063.25 per week.

House and contents insurance

Home and contents insurance will cover the cost of repair or replacement home belongings if they are damaged or destroyed. The cost can vary significantly, depending on where you live and what type of policy you opt for.

For example, areas of the country prone to natural disasters will mean your insurance premiums will cost you more.

Council rates

Council rates are property taxes that all Australian homeowners are expected to pay to their local council. The formula for calculating the rates for a property is the property valuation multiplied by the rate in the dollar set by each council.

The rates fund services provided by council in the local community, such as sporting facilities, footpaths and also the cost of providing weekly bin rubbish collection services to each household.

Like so many other costs, council rates have climbed significantly. In fact, over the past decade, homeowners are paying 39% more on council rates. 

On average, council rates range between $300 and $600 per quarter, or around $41 a week. You may be able to receive a concession for council rates if you are on a health care card.

Utility bills

It’s getting more expensive to keep the lights on. And with winter approaching, the cost of wanting your home won’t be easy.

The average Australian household now spends upwards of $300 a quarter on electricity, according to the ABC. While both political parties promise short-term relief on the cost of electricity, in the meantime, it’s still a major household expense, wherever you live in the country

Check to see whether your bill is based on an actual reading or is an estimate. If it’s an estimate, you can call your electricity provider and request a reading, particularly if you have been trying to cut down on usage.

Aside from that, you’ve got the cost of water, gas and sometimes, internet.

Factors that can impact the average cost include where you live, size and energy efficiency of your home. On top of that, the average monthly cost for home internet access is around $80 per month, or $20 per week, Tom’s Guide found.

The good news is that households are set to save $150 on their energy bill through until the end of 2025 as part of a $1.8 billion government energy rebate pledge. If you have solar, you’re going to be paying less.

Total for utilities could be around $70 per week.

Body corporate fees

A unit, townhouse or apartment often attracts body corporate fees, which cover the costs of maintaining common areas of facilities within the building, such as driveways, pathways, gyms or pools.

Again, the fee varies depending on the age of the property, condition, maintenance required and location. In Victoria, these fees vary between $2000 and $4000 per year, according to Strata Management Consultants.

In Sydney, these fees can vary between $500 and $2500 per quarter. But luxury buildings in inner city areas could be charging much more.

If you’re in the market to buy, make sure you find out the cost of body corporate fees before making an offer. Make sure you add in a figure relevant to your state.

For the purpose of calculating a rough estimate, let’s settle on $100 a week.

Home renovations

If you’re thinking of upgrading that bathroom or sorting out that backyard, budgeting out the project will make sure you don’t overspend.

According to renovation experts Three Birds Renovations, an average good quality home renovation will set you back between $3000 and $5000 per sq/m. Higher end finishes will mean the cost could go as high as $5000 and $7000 per sq/m.

According to a Housing Industry Association (HIA) survey, a kitchen renovation could cost around $22,000 to $40,000.

Let’s agree that to maintain your property, you will need to spend on average $10,000 a year on renovations.

Other

Other costs you may need to factor in include the cost of Lenders’ Mortgage Insurance, maintenance and repairs and ongoing costs of maintaining or improving your landscaping and gardens.

Let’s say $100 a week for incidentals.

So, the calculations:

Earning per household: $2,329 per week

Average costs per week

• Mortgage: $1063.25
• Insurance: $156.25
• Council rates: $41
• Utilities $70
• Body corporate: $100
• Renovation fund: $192
• Incidentals: $100

= $606.00 left over for groceries, clothing, schools fees, car registration, entertainment and anything else your household needs.

It’s not a lot. PropTrack’s housing affordability report reveals that things are at the worse level in at least three decades.

REA Group executive manager of economics Angus Moore says housing affordability hasn’t been this low since the mid 1990s, or even longer.

“We expect prices to keep lifting over the coming months, but the rate of growth is likely to be more modest compared to rent years,” Mr Moore says.

“With affordability still a major constraint, the impact of further rate cuts will be somewhat tempered,” Moore says.

This article first appeared on Mortgage Choice and has been republished with permission.

The post The cost of keeping a roof over your head in 2025 appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Preparing for the summer season — typically a peak period in most real estate markets —requires strategic planning and a keen focus on the client experience. Competition can heat up quickly and as a global brokerage, here’s how we’re preparing for a successful luxury summer selling season across the markets we serve — and how you can do the same.

Strengthen operational readiness

Operational readiness is critical as the summer selling season revs up, and part of that is adding and allocating brokerage resources effectively. From launching a large volume of new listings to preparing winning offers, it’s important that clients feel confident and supported at every touchpoint.

Make sure you have ample and well-trained transaction management staff and review operational processes ahead of time to ensure smooth transactions throughout the summer season. This also applies to technology. Spring is a good time to ensure your tech platforms are optimized. 

Empower your team for peak performance

Take time to train or refresh your team on market intel, selling strategies and tech tools, so they can make the most of their CRM, scheduling tools and transaction management platform. Streamline workflows ahead of time to maintain top-tier service that caters to mobile-first buyers searching for homes across borders and sellers who want to close quickly. I also encourage my team to be both well-informed and well-rested as summer approaches. Plan mini-breaks as needed and manage stress—whether that means hiring a personal assistant or a personal trainer.

Reignite client engagement

Summer is a highly social season — and now is the perfect time for agents to reconnect with clients and nurture relationships. Host client appreciation gatherings, creative property previews, or social events that highlight your listings and your market expertise. Strategic marketing initiatives for agents might include targeted postcard or email campaigns to share valuable seasonal information like selling tips, landscaping tips, curb appeal ideas or updates on local market conditions. Then follow up with phone calls to learn if your clients are ready to buy or sell this year. 

Summer is also prime moving season for families who want to settle in before a new school year begins. You’ll want to engage with this demographic and tailor outbound marketing to their unique needs, highlighting school districts, private schools, family-friendly neighborhoods, walkability, safety, and amenities that are important to families, like parks and sports fields.

If you operate across state lines or globally, as we do, be prepared for remote transactions and fast closings—many of these buyers are on tight timelines and appreciate agents who are organized, communicative, and proactive.

Showcase summer lifestyle features

Discerning luxury buyers have high expectations, and those change with the seasons. Summer is the time to spotlight the features buyers are yearning for most — including outdoor kitchens, pools, terraces, and seamless indoor-outdoor living spaces. As you prepare to market properties across regions, consider photography, staging, messaging, and social sharing that position these lifestyle features front and center.

Make sure listing videos, virtual tours, and digital marketing reflect the vibrancy of summer while conveying the exclusivity that discerning buyers are searching for. 

Understand international investor needs

Our global clientele are looking for lifestyle-driven acquisitions with long-term value —whether it’s a beachfront retreat in Spain or a pied-à-terre in New York City. Your team must be skilled at facilitating global transactions, leveraging in-house legal support, financing, and relocation services.

We provide all of these services for the complete transaction lifecycle to make it effortless for our clients to transact across borders, no matter where they are in the world.

Leverage market data to optimize impact

Recognize that summer isn’t peak season everywhere. In Palm Springs and Arizona, residents leave town as temperatures rise. Analyze cross-market data before deploying strategic marketing campaigns and resources to the highest-impact markets. In this way, you can capture demand where it’s surging — including popular summer getaways like the Hamptons or Cape Cod, second-home markets like Hawaii, and investment hot spots like the Cayman Islands. 

Track inventory levels, pricing trends, and buyer activity shifts in each region. These insights not only help you allocate resources effectively—they can also inform your pricing strategies to help your seller clients remain competitive. Advise buyers to move swiftly — especially in low-inventory markets — and ensure buyers have their finances in order. Likewise, ask sellers to be available and ready to respond to offers as soon as their listings go live.

Looking ahead: Stay laser-focused on the client experience

Summer is a key opportunity to showcase our value as real estate professionals — bringing together local market expertise, a global perspective, and exceptional service across every market we serve. Capitalizing on it starts with early, strategic preparation. Whether you’re a solo agent, leading a team, or running a global brokerage, the groundwork you lay in the first months of the year will help you thrive when the market heats up. Putting the client experience at the center of your planning, marketing, outreach and operations can set you up for a successful summer selling season. 

Rainy Hake Austin is a brokerage leader at The Agency.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.

Prefab Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are revolutionizing the way homeowners are considering their living space. Whether you’re looking to create a rental property, a guesthouse, or a private retreat for family members, prefab tiny home ADUs offer a streamlined and efficient alternative to traditional construction. But are they the right fit for your needs? From cost and design options to installation logistics and local regulations, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about prefab ADUs—helping you determine if a factory-built unit is the perfect solution for your property.

Should you go the prefab ADU route? Are they legal in your area? Can you afford one? Here’s all the info you need to get started!

What is a prefab ADU?

“Prefab” is short for prefabricated, meaning the accessory dwelling unit is partly or entirely constructed in a factory. Then it’s transported to your lot and installed. The beauty of a prefab ADU is that it involves much less disruption on your property than building an ADU from the ground up. Instead of an average 7-10 month timeline for construction, you’ll probably have a few weeks of site prep and a few days to a week for installation of the unit.

Design-wise, we are in a golden age of pre-fab ADU ingenuity. From sleek contemporary models, to modern farmhouse, to traditional ranch and bungalow styles, prefab ADU manufacturers keep expanding their portfolios.

Prefab ADUs range in cost from modest to extravagant, so whatever your taste and budget, there’s probably a prefab for you. The companies are happy to let you tour model homes so you can walk around inside the units and see the quality of the construction and finishes.

Walk-throughs are super helpful when it comes to envisioning space. Even if you mark out 800 square feet in your backyard, you’re not going to get a sense of what that volume feels like until you’re standing inside a physical room. That’s another huge advantage of prefab ADUs: you’ll get to truly sample the space.

You can also visit the factories where the ADUs are manufactured and witness the process firsthand. Representatives from the manufacturer will explain all aspects of the build and show you different interior and exterior finishes. It’s fascinating and can go a long way toward making you comfortable with the idea of buying a prefab.

What are key benefits of a prefab ADU?

Benefits include less stress, less noise, less uncertainty, less disruption to your property: these are the main reasons folks choose prefabs over custom ADUs.

You’re also likely to have a shorter timeline from beginning to end of the project. This isn’t to say prefab companies are immune to supply chain delays. They’re not. But the companies tend to keep a regular crew of tradespeople who move quickly from unit to unit, and the units are all familiar to them. There are few surprises when you’ve built the same ADU multiple times before. The same applies to city inspections, which take place at the factory. Few surprises mean very few glitches with inspections.

Another big benefit: There are no weather delays with prefabs because they’re built indoors.

Overall, prefab ADUs offer a more predictable experience than custom ADUs.

Installing a prefab ADU tends to be less stressful than living with construction in your backyard and with the revolving cast of contractors, tradespeople, and inspectors that are involved.

Types of prefab ADUs

There are two types of prefab ADUs: modular and panelized.

Modular prefabs

Modular prefabs are the most common—they’re what most people think of when they hear the term “prefab.” These arrive at your site as a complete unit or units and are either lifted into place by a crane or rolled onto the site.

Most modular prefab companies offer studio, 1-bedroom and 2-bedroom ADUs. Modular prefabs have specific floor plans that you can’t alter. The companies usually offer several choices of flooring, roofing, exterior cladding, and other finishes.

Panelized prefabs

Panelized prefab ADUs are created in wall sections that are shipped to your property on a flatbed truck and then assembled on-site. The electrical and plumbing are added after assembly, as are the interior and exterior finishes and the roofing. With panelized prefabs, most of the build takes place on your lot, but having the wall sections and roof trusses created in the factory eliminates some of the noise and disruption of on-site framing.

Panelized prefab companies often have a wide range of floor plans you can customize, and some even let you bring in a set of plans from your own architect.

Can a prefab ADU be used as a legal dwelling?

Absolutely! Prefab companies design their models to meet the building code requirements of ADUs in the areas they serve. The codes stipulate things like:

• Maximum and minimum size limits
• Kitchen requirements
• Bathroom requirements
• Connectability to city utilities: electricity, sewer, water, natural gas (being phased out in many areas)
• Structural requirements
• Energy efficiency requirements

A prefab ADU that meets the required building standards is legally deemed part of your real estate property. This is extremely important in terms of future value, because in certain states some legal ADUs are not part of your property.

For instance, movable tiny homes can be built off-site (so they’re “prefab”) and are considered legal ADUs. But because they are not physically connected to the property, they’re not considered real estate. That means they won’t add value to your property.

Prefab “sheds” are different from prefab ADUs. It’s legal to use them as a home office but not as living space, so they’ll add much less value to your property than a prefab ADU (although they’ll also cost less if they don’t have a kitchen or bath).

Prefabs require all the same building permits as custom ADUs and must pass the same city inspections. These inspections take place on the factory floor, as the ADU goes through its various stages of construction. You’ll have a few inspections on site, but most will take place at the factory, meaning you won’t have to be involved with the process or wait around for the city inspector.

Most people build ADUs not for the long-term increase in property value (although that’s a wonderful benefit) but to house a family member or to rent out for income. Prefab ADUs have some big advantages over custom ADUs: They’re more predictable and less hassle than building from the ground up. For people who want a relatively stress-free experience, prefabs are definitely something to consider.

Jon Grishpul is Co-CEO of GreatBuildz.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.To contact the editor responsible for this piece: zeb@hwmedia.com.

Develop know, like and trust recognition with a headshot that grabs attention for all the right reasons. Author Stacey Soleil shows you how.

An Adelaide musician has snapped up one of the most popular homes across the country in a $2m deal.

They outbid seven other registered bidders to secure the 1930s-built Prospect cottage at its highly-anticipated auction for $2.071m.

Selling agent Jake Flavel, of Ray White Salisbury, said the buyers, one of which was a local musician, planned to live in the home at 6 Castle Ave.

“They were crying they were so happy,” he said.

“I think they were watching (for property) in the area for a while … (but) they actually came towards the end of the campaign.”

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Families and a local restaurateur were among the other househunters vying for the keys to the property.

The renovated cottage, which has been transformed into a coastal-inspired family home, was the country’s most viewed residential property going under the hammer on realestate.com.au last week.

Mr Flavel said it attracted strong interest from a range of buyers in the lead up to auction.

“Most people just want to come and have a look at the property because it’s so stunning,” he said last week.

He said the sellers had owned the four-bedroom home, which is on a 582sqm block, for seven years and renovated it meticulously throughout that time.

While modern inside, he said they retained the home’s character charm, which was a major part of its appeal.

Its second level and one of the bathrooms, which were redesigned by The Block 2013 winners Alisa and Lysandra, are among its standout features.

Following the auction, Mr Flavel said he received several calls from househunters keen to know if it sold.

He said lots of people willing to put their homes on the market if it meant they could buy the house.

“It sparked a lot of interest in the area,” he said.

The post Adelaide musician buys popular Prospect cottage in $2m sale appeared first on realestate.com.au.