Four out of five Sydneysiders building new homes are opting to knock down their home and rebuild rather than renovate or sell, according to Metricon NSW. 

Data from the building company indicates that 79 per cent of its customers are choosing to knock down and rebuild their homes to avoid the hassle of renovating or having to sell and buy elsewhere.

Metricon NSW General Manager Luke Fryer told WILLIAMS MEDIA the demand for the rebuilds had remained strong, despite backward steps from the market.

“We've found that the knock down rebuild metropolitan Sydney market has been fairly consistent throughout the past 12 months," he said.

"These individuals are generally in a good equity position and love their address, but have an ageing home

"There's that appetite to keep the address they love, but update the way they live."

David and Fiona Elsey of Lane Cove West purchased a 1950s double brick home in December 2012. 

Mrs Elsey, who owns Riverside Chiropractic, said they eventually progressed from working on what was there to rebuilding from scratch.

“Everything was original, but it was the only way that we could afford to buy into the area and not be living on a main road,” said Fiona, who owns Riverside Chiropractic.

“There were lots of things wrong with it including termite damage, dodgy wiring, gravity fed hot water, carpet in the kitchen and like many homes of that era it had asbestos. 

“We replaced the kitchen, rewired the house, put built-ins in the bedrooms and painted in order to make it liveable for the short term and planned to add an extra storey in the future. 

“When we started our research on the extension, we found that it was going to be less stressful and cheaper to do knock it down and rebuild."

Mr Fryer said knock down rebuild enquiries had been more pronounced in the inner north and inner west suburbs of the city.

"The old red brickers with two bedrooms and a single garage situated in an affluent suburb probably make up 80 per cent of the enquiries," he said.

"Suburbs such as Ryde and Chatswood, as well as upper north shore, lower north shore and Northern Beaches are the real hot spots, plus we do a lot of work in the Sutherland Shire.

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