With property buyers, investors and renters becoming savvier by the day, real estate developers are constantly innovating to come up with new and interesting solutions to meet the market.
One of the latest concepts I’ve come across is the idea of ‘convertible housing’ – and I have to say, it has a lot of merit!
The idea is to create one large, freestanding home that suits the needs of a traditional family. However, the home can also be easily converted into two, three or even more separate dwellings – thereby making it suitable to rent out separately to several different tenants.
It’s already been done in Perth, where architect David Barr created a two-storey building comprised of three one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments.
Barr’s design, which won him Landcorp’s 2013 Generation Y design competition, can also be used as a three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, meaning it suits two very different markets.
Considering the fact that Australian households are increasingly shrinking, with an ageing population and more one- and two-person households than ever before, these types of convertible properties could be a winner.
They’re a solid option for investors who want to hedge their bets and ensure their investment property appeals to the broadest possible market in the years to come.
What do you think: would you invest in a convertible home and do you think this design could transform the Australian property market?
Til next time, happy investing!
Helen Collier-Kogtevs
