OPES Partners | Director Andrew Nicol: New builds vs old builds

by Metropol | July 23, 2025 8:30 am

Were our houses really built better back in the day?

Rows of townhouses are springing up all across New Zealand. Some people call them cheap, cookie-cutter homes. Especially when you see them next to older villas. But were houses really better back in the day?

Fifty years ago, homes were hand-built by teams of carpenters. It’d take three people about six months to build a house. Labour and land were cheaper, so that made sense. Today they are hideously expensive. So we don’t build like that because houses would be even more expensive. That’s why you see more components of modern houses built in factories. That’s what gives them that ‘same-y’ look.

It’s also easy to look at an older house and think: “Look how nice it is. Old houses have stood the test of time.” No, they haven’t. Most of them are gone. You’re only looking at the ones that survived because they were well-maintained. That’s survivor bias. Are modern new builds worse than old houses? Not really. Just different – faster, cheaper, and often better suited for today’s buyers.

Source URL: https://metropol.co.nz/opes-partners-director-andrew-nicol-new-builds-vs-old-builds/

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