Money.com.au\u2019s<\/a> nationally representative survey of more than 1000 Australians found 54 per cent would consider buying or living in a pod-style or prefab home, including flatpack DIY models sold through retailers such as Bunnings.<\/p>\nGen X was the generation most open to the idea, with 60 per cent willing to embrace flatpack housing as a pathway to homeownership.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Millennials followed at 56 per cent, while Gen Z and Baby Boomers were both at 49 per cent.<\/p>\n
The findings come as tiny home supplier Elsewhere Pods reports a huge surge in interest following the launch of its national partnership with Bunnings, with the company fielding phone inquiries every 48 seconds in April.<\/p>\n
Money.com.au property expert Nick Burgess said many Australians were now looking beyond the traditional freestanding house because the financial burden had become too great.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany Australians in their 30s, 40s and 50s are realising that owning a smaller, more affordable home may be a better financial outcome than stretching themselves to buy or build a traditional house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are Australians in their peak home-buying and family-raising years, and many are increasingly open to prefab or pod-style homes as a practical middle ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s either because it\u2019s more affordable than brick and mortar or because they don\u2019t want to take on a huge mortgage over 30 years like some of their peers.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Buying land and setting up a pod-style home could save future homeowners thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
The research found flatpack housing had the strongest appeal among lower-income households, with 63 per cent of those earning $50,000 to $99,999 saying they would consider it.<\/p>\n
That was the highest of any income bracket and well above the 45 per cent recorded among households earning $150,000 to $199,999.<\/p>\n
Even so, Australians still have clear concerns about compact prefab living.<\/p>\n
Limited space was the biggest barrier, nominated by 46 per cent of respondents, while 41 per cent said they had concerns about build quality and durability.<\/p>\n
Around 28 per cent worried about lifestyle and comfort, and 27 per cent were concerned about council approvals or zoning restrictions.<\/p>\n
Another 20 per cent questioned resale value, while only 4 per cent said social stigma was holding them back.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere Pods, Bunnings partnership fuels surge in flatpack homes<\/p>\n
Elsewhere Pods founder Matt Decarne said the level of demand had exceeded the company\u2019s own expectations and let to the hiring of more sale\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest driving forces is Australia\u2019s dire need for affordable housing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAustralians are searching for smarter, faster and more affordable housing solutions \u2013 from backyard studios and granny flats to eco-tourism accommodation and full-time residences.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victorians in particular are drawn to pod-style living, accounting for 35 per cent of buyers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we\u2019re about 30 per cent in New South Wales, 15 per cent to 20 per cent in Queensland and then the rest of the states kind of make up the difference,\u201d Mr Decarne said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Matt Decarne founder of Elsewhere Pods that have been inundated with requests since partnering with Bunnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut what we\u2019re seeing at the moment is a pretty dramatic overrepresentation in Western Australia and that\u2019s partly due to the fact that there are not that many builders over there \u2026 and it\u2019s a similar story for Tasmania where it\u2019s really difficult to get building materials over there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company\u2019s flagship product is its 8m tiny home which sells for around $115,000 delivered and installed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe find that this is just a really nice sweet spot between having enough space and functionality that you could potentially live in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, Mr Decarne said the company was in talks with Bunnings to roll out bigger showrooms to allow customers to feel and see the entire range of flatpack homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment we\u2019re starting to roll out our displays around the country. We had the first one installed at Narrie Warren. We got one that just gone into Robina on the Gold Coast and Castle Hill in Sydney will be next in the next couple of weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pod home prices range between $50,000 and $208,584.50.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a long term vision to roll out our full suite of granny flats and tiny homes within Bunnings but we\u2019re just working with them on ensuring that we tick all the regulatory and compliances boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bunnings Director of Merchandise, Cam Rist said evolving the company\u2019s\u2019s range of products, while remaining responsive to the needs of our customers, was at the core of the retailer\u2019s DNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur current selection of outdoor pods reflects our commitment to offering customers more choice in this growing category,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to review opportunities in this space to ensure we\u2019re meeting customer demands.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aussies are turning to flatpack homes in a bid to slash more than $500,000 off the cost of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":811234,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-811233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811233","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=811233"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/811233\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/811234"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=811233"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=811233"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=811233"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}