With Sydney’s median house price hitting the $1 million mark, property owners are on the hunt for innovative ways to increase their property value or subsidise their mortgages. Smaller mortgages and flexible floor-plans for changing and expanding families are driving property owners to think outside the box. But nowadays, living inside the box is gaining momentum.
While not a particularly new concept, today’s container homes are setting new standards in innovative concepts, sustainable living and architectural design. Whether you use one container to create an affordable granny flat or holiday home, or a number of containers to create a spectacular family home, the design options are simply staggering.
For those considering building a granny flat, container homes are a lower cost option compared with the traditional granny flat construction. It can cost well over $100,000 to build a granny flat in Sydney, whereas a container conversion can be completed for half the price at about $42,000.
Some property owners are combining new trends and technology to ease the mortgage pain by listing their granny flat on AirBnB to help support the mortgage without committing to long term rental arrangements. This gives them the flexibility to keep the granny flat available for family and friends, whilst generating an income when they aren’t using it.
Location, style, facilities and how much personality your property has will determine the holiday rental return. As a rough guide, 1 bedroom properties listed on AirBnB in Sydney range between $65 to $400 per night with the average for all Sydney properties being $153 per night, $91 per night in Brisbane and $173 per night in Melbourne.
Shipping container architecture is almost limitless and extremely affordable. Cheap, durable and strong, containers offer interesting design options and the opportunity to drastically reduce building costs. Using containers is taking the concept of modular homes to a whole new level – repurposing a resource that otherwise goes to waste once no longer deemed sea-worthy.
As with all building options, container homes are subject to specific building regulations so check with your local council to determine what is possible in your local area. You may also like to consider the option of having the shipping containers customised off-site rather than on-site to reduce the overall cost of building a container home.
And with any additional income, there may be tax implications, so it’s always advisable to seek professional advice.