Could the humble granny flat help the housing crisis?

There are some great points in an article by view.com.au about how the humble granny flat may be able to play a big part in the housing crisis in Sydney and Melbourne, but this may also be extended to Geelong and the coast.

Some of the region’s older suburbs and towns still have larger traditional-sized lots and it was quite common to have granny flats at the rear of these properties, some with rear laneway access.

Although building a separate dwelling on a block has been mostly prohibited, there is some movement here due to the housing crisis, and the older properties can still use their granny flats under existing use rights contributing to the rental supply.

Each state has different planning requirements around granny flats, but a new study reveals there are more than 655,000 sites suitable for the construction of a granny flat with Sydney being home to the most granny flat development opportunities seeing around 242,000 suitable properties, while Melbourne has almost 230,000 potential sites.

Every residential block across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane was assessed to determine how many individual properties have building potential for a self-contained two-bedroom unit in the analysis by Archistar, Blackfort and CoreLogic

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said that for policy makers and government, granny flats presented an immediate and cost-effective opportunity to deliver much needed housing supply within existing town planning guidelines.

“They can also add significant value to your home,” he said.

“For homeowners, the addition of a second self-contained dwelling provides an opportunity to provide rental housing or additional accommodation for family members, while at the same time, increasing the value of their property and potentially attaining additional rental income.”

CoreLogic figures show an extra two bedrooms, and an additional bathroom could add about 32 per cent to the value of an existing dwelling.

For a house worth $500,000, the addition of a granny flat has the potential to add about $160,000 to the value of the property.

The value of granny flats is that they offer an immediate opportunity to increase housing in areas that are already located close to existing infrastructure.

Archistar co-founder Dr Benjamin Coorey said since granny flat developments leveraged existing lot areas and required no changes to town planning regulation in some jurisdictions, they offer an immediate opportunity to address housing shortages and affordability pressure expected in the coming five years for both buyers and renters

“Granny flats present a cost-effective opportunity to boost housing supply for growing capital populations close to existing infrastructure such as railways, bus routes and major road networks for state and local governments,” Dr Coorey said.