Most people compare a renovation quote against a house price and stop there. That comparison is almost always wrong, because only one side of it includes all the costs.
Here is how to do it properly for a Redlands home.
What moving actually costs
Start with the costs that never appear in the listing price.
Queensland transfer duty on the new purchase. On a typical Redlands family home this is a substantial five figure sum and it is money that buys you nothing.
Agent commission on the sale of your existing home, plus marketing and styling.
Legal and conveyancing on both sides, building and pest on the purchase, and loan establishment or break costs.
Removalists, and often a period of double holding or short term rental in between.
Then the part almost nobody counts. The house you move to is rarely exactly right either. Most people spend meaningfully on the new place within the first two years, and that spend is on top of everything above.
Add those together honestly before you compare anything.
What renovating actually costs
The build cost, plus the design and approvals stage, plus a realistic contingency for what an existing house is hiding.
Plus the cost of living through it, or living elsewhere while it happens. That is a real number and it belongs in the comparison.
The comparison nobody runs
Put the two totals side by side, then ask three questions the numbers do not answer.
Do you want to stay in this street. Schools, neighbours, the commute, the shape of your life. This is worth real money and people routinely discount it to zero because it does not appear on a spreadsheet.
Is your block worth building on. A good block in a good position is the part you cannot buy back. If your land is right and only the house is wrong, renovating is usually the stronger financial position, because you are spending on the part you keep.
Is the house structurally worth it. Some houses are not. Severe subfloor problems, widespread termite damage, or a floor plan that cannot be reworked without effectively rebuilding. A builder will tell you this before you spend money on drawings, and it is a free conversation.
When moving is the better answer
We will say this plainly because most builders will not.
Move if the block is the problem rather than the house. Move if what you need is a fundamentally different location. Move if the renovation required is so extensive that you are effectively rebuilding, and a knock down or a purchase does it better.
We have told people to move. It is a short conversation and it is better than taking on a project that was never going to work.
When renovating wins
Renovating usually wins when the location is right, the block is right, and the house simply does not suit how you live now. In that case you are spending money on the part of the asset you actually want to keep, and you avoid the entire cost of transacting.
The one thing to do first
Before you list the house or commission a design, get a builder to walk the property and tell you honestly what is achievable and roughly what it costs. Half an hour at the start prevents the most expensive version of this decision, which is discovering the answer after you have committed to one side of it.
