Latest trends on show

Building, renovating, or freshening up a home means keeping up with the Joneses, or rather the latest trends.

According to New Zealand Registered Master Builders, 2024 building trends highlight a commitment to sustainability, technology, flexibility and personalisation. With standard homes currently said to cost $3500 to $4000 average per square metre, and prestige one-off designed homes are typically $6000 or more, it is important to keep up with trends to ensure value for money and longevity.

Consider these:
Entertaining: Designing floorplans so the house is an entertainer’s dream, with open plan kitchen and dining areas featuring built-in bars, social eating areas, sliding doors, and folding windows inside. Outside, wrap around decks, built-in outdoor kitchens, fire pits, second floor decks, and even pop up pools are on the rise.

Personal retreat: More homes are starting to resemble retreats, a sanctuary for those who live there. Building materials include natural stone, timber and such that create a feeling of being surrounded by nature. Think home day spas, and places to relax and meditate.

Smart homes: Technology, especially apps, can now be used to completely personalise your home, with fridges suggesting recipes using what’s inside, and phones able to turn music, lights, and the oven on as you drive home, and tailored entertainment and security systems.

Modular homes: Demand is increasing for homes constructed off-site using prefabricated materials, then assembled on-site. Small (and tiny) homes are also in demand. Modular construction is often more cost-effective, there’s less waste, a high level of control, energy efficiency, less disruption to the site and surrounding land, and homes can be built in more types of terrain.