Do Architects Add Value to a Home?

Real value. Not the touchy-feely stuff. Money makes the world go around, so let’s put comfort, beauty, efficiency, sustainability and all that stuff to one side for now. It’s OK, we’ll pick them up again later.

Research conducted in 2019 by RAsP (Research for Architects in Small Practice) asked the question “Do small practice architect designed renovations improve capital gains in the Melbourne residential property market?” and sought to answer the question with objective data.

The research found that:

“Houses that are renovated by architects increase in value 1.2% per annum more quickly than those that are renovated without an architect. Whilst that 1.2% might not sound a lot, for a house with the median price of $1.2 million dollars this amounts to a substantial $256,000 increase in value over ten years.”

Or put another way:

“For every dollar that was spent on engaging an architect, the property gained $11.40 in capital appreciation. For example, on architects fees of $10,000, the added value after ten years would be an impressive $114,000. So, whilst architectural services fees might seem high when compared with going it alone, the value returned on this investment in the long term is much higher.”

But Architects don’t add value by merely waving a pencil in your general direction. What do they actually DO? This is where we pick up that comfort, beauty, efficiency and sustainability stuff again. Small practice architects and trained designers know how to juggle this stuff. Cos at the end of the day houses are bought and sold by people. And people aren’t stupid. People know what feels good, looks good, works well and responds to our values. So when it comes to choosing between a property that achieves that stuff and one that doesn’t, we are going to prefer the one that does. Desirability correlates to value.

To separate the touchy-feely stuff from the cash-value stuff is to make a false attempt at objectivity. When a home is thermally comfortable through the year without much heating and cooling, for example, it will be comfortable (Yeah, this place feels good) and have low energy bills (Honey, what a bonus!). This doesn’t happen by accident, it is because the trained designer thought about the sun; the site; window placement and size; wall, roof and floor construction; and layout. The touchy-feely stuff is rooted in technical knowledge. And a house that feels good is a valuable proposition.

But what if you aren’t quite (or nowhere near) a $1.2million median house price? What if you can’t afford an architect?

This is where Architect GP and our like-minded allies like Undercover Architect diverge from the architectural pack. We see that not every homeowner is going to engage an architect for full services: from the first chat, through design and construction, to turning the key. It is unrealistic, and honestly inefficient, to think that every house is going to be custom designed by an architect.

BUT!

All homeowners can and should benefit from consulting with a qualified designer during their process. Why? Because building and renovating a house is complicated. And it’s a big investment. And just as you wouldn’t do your business tax without input from an accountant, nor should you do your home design without input from a qualified designer. Accountants juggle numbers. Lawyers juggle words. Architects juggle space. Each of them to great affect. And each profession knows the regulatory framework, processes and partners required to get the job done well (as well as how to get elegant results and outputs).

We believe that you don’t have to have an architect take the project all the way to get a lot of the benefit. You don’t have to worry about giving away control of a project, or the feeling of having it taken from you. This is YOUR home and YOUR project. Getting specific guidance just got easier, so why not get the benefit of the investment while enjoying your home more in the meantime?

Guidance starts at $79+gst with a 30-minute call with Sarah.

OR

Contact your local Architect GP for an hour-long discussion with Architect-On-Call.

Image credit Lauren Egan