As your lifestyle changes, downsizing your home can be incredibly beneficial. While we’re often told that bigger is better, when it comes to your home, that isn’t always the case.
Whether you’re looking for a simpler lifestyle or more financial freedom, a smaller house could be your ticket. In this article, we outline the top 10 reasons to downsize your home and explore why prefabs are a great solution. We also touch on how much it costs to build a home in 2024.
10 reasons to downsize your home
1. Low maintenance
A smaller home is easier and more cost-effective to maintain. With less to care for and fewer jobs needing to be done, you can easily keep on top of everything. If you want to go travelling, it’s also easy to lock up and leave, knowing the home is secure in your absence.
2. Energy efficiency
With fewer rooms to heat and cool, a smaller home is more energy efficient. This will reduce your energy bills significantly and be kinder to the planet. By building a new home, you’ll also have better insulation to comply with the Building Code, achieving higher thermal efficiency.
3. Location
With a smaller home, finding buildable land is much easier, with more small sections available in good locations. This way, you’ll be within proximity of everything you need, whether by walking distance, a short drive away, or via public transport.
4. Reduced living costs
Maintaining a large house is costly, with higher energy bills, maintenance costs, mortgage repayments, and insurance. On the other hand, a smaller home has lower bills, freeing up extra cash to pay off debts, travel the world, and invest in your future.
5. Decluttering
With less space to fill, downsizing will encourage you to declutter. By getting rid of the things you no longer need or want, a smaller home will be a fresh start to prioritise the things you need and value most.
6. Retirement planning
Living in a smaller house is a lot easier to clean and maintain, which is ideal for retirement. This way, you’ll be able to spend more time on experiences and enjoy quality time with friends and family.
A more compact home is also easier to move around, with the bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom all closer together. This accessibility future-proofs your home so you’re more likely to stay in it for longer.
7. Simplified lifestyle
A smaller house will encourage you to simplify your lifestyle, with fewer jobs to complete and fewer possessions to accumulate. The time and money saved from living in a smaller home allows you to live more freely, with an easier workload, less responsibility, and more cash in hand.
8. Releasing equity
Downsizing your current home could leave you with cash left over, enabling you to spend your money on other investments. For example, you may be able to purchase an investment property or second dwelling and use the income to fund your next holiday or retirement.
9. No mortgage
Downsizing your home often makes it possible to free up your finances and stop paying a mortgage. Without a mortgage, you’ll be able to redirect your money towards the things that really matter to you, whether that be your family, travel, or investments.
10. Customisation
By building a smaller home, you’ll have the chance to design it exactly how you like it. With more financial freedom and lower building costs overall, you can invest in the appliances, fixtures, and finishes you care about most.
Small house plans NZ
If you’re ready to build a home and are looking for tiny homes and small layouts, a prefab house is the ideal solution. Prefabs are built off-site in a factory, meaning construction is quick, efficient, and more cost-effective than a traditional building project. The smaller layouts are also well thought out, containing everything you need and the option to customise.
Here at Genius Homes, we offer a range of small house layouts that are suitable for a holiday home, second dwelling, cabin, farm house or new home build.
Benefits of prefab homes
If you’re interested in building a prefab home, consider the pros and cons of prefab homes first.
Controlled and consistent
Prefab homes are constructed in a specialised factory protected from the weather, meaning every element of the project is controlled and predictable.
Sustainable construction
The prefab building process is better for the environment, with fewer trips to the building site, less material waste, and minimal impact on the site from vans and tradespeople.
Efficient construction
Our homes are built and delivered in an average of 10 weeks from when they enter the production line. With only 4 weeks of on-site work, this is much faster than traditional on-site construction. You can find out more about the construction process and timeline here.
High-quality materials
Our prefabs are delivered fully finished with high-quality materials from trusted brands like COLORSTEEL®, Weathertex, Pink® Batts®, Resene, Godfrey Hirst, Bosch, and more.
Reliable workmanship
From the structure to the details, every component of your prefab build is carried out in the factory, subject to close supervision and strict quality controls.
Customisable designs
With prefab homes, you can tweak an existing design or have a bespoke design drawn up to meet your specific requirements.
Affordable fixed prices
Our prefabs are more cost-effective, with predictable costs, lower labour costs, fixed pricing, and bulk buying discounts.
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How much does it cost to build a home in 2024?
Wondering how much to build a new home? In October 2023, the building cost-per-square-metre rose to $3,145, based on building consent applications. While costs are still rising, the Cordell Construction Cost Index indicates that the rate of increase is levelling out in 2024.
The cost of building a house is largely determined by labour costs, which account for 40% to 50% of the total bill. By reducing the construction time and labour required, prefabs typically cost 10% to 20% less than a traditional home.
2-bedroom house plans
Our 2-bedroom homes offer a functional space to suit your new lifestyle. With fixed pricing, customisation options, and our efficient prefab construction, we know you’ll love the freedom these smaller homes provide. Find your ideal layout by clicking below.
