The big money reasons smaller houses are better

OPINION: I will never understand the fixation some people have with getting as big a house as they can possibly afford. Smaller houses are wonderful, and where I would choose to be any day of the week.

When I bought my first home in Wellington, I was constantly warned by people.

“Three bedrooms at least,” they said. “Make sure it’s not too small. Think of the resale value.”

It’s an argument that drives me crazy. Any investment you make should be based on quality, and whether you think it offers value.

Trying to guess what some future buyer will think, though? Futile. You just don’t know how living trends will change several years in the future.

Besides, even if you take the resale value argument, smaller is still better.

Whenever the house sales statistics come out each year, the only thing that’s certain is uncertainty. Most of the market might be up, or it might be down; the market moves fast in property, which is part of what makes it so profitable.

But the “affordable” end of the market – often filled with smaller homes – tends to be ticking along nicely no matter what the rest of it is doing.

That’s because that end of the market is often filled with first home buyers. They buy when they’ve finally saved up the deposit and are in the right life stage to buy, rather than being influenced by what the rest of the market is doing.

There are also lots of investors on the hunt for a bargain in the affordable end. So you’ve got two solid buyer types off the bat.

But just as much as the money considerations, the lifestyle with smaller houses is wonderful.

As soon as you’re thinking smaller, you start thinking smarter. You start to prioritise; what do you actually use, what do you actually want?

Rather than hoarding a musty spare room filled with half-done projects, unworn clothes, broken furniture that you’re sure you’ll get around to fixing soon, you face the clutter in your life. You’re forced to be honest about it.

Will you actually do that project, or will it wait around taking up space for years?

Either get it done or get rid of it.

You’re freed from the clutter that builds up too easily, freed from spending all weekend cleaning rooms you barely use.

If you have a family, all the better. You might actually see each other.

Instead of a TV in each room, you end up gathered together around the same TV, actually talking between the shows.

I don’t need a bigger house that I barely use filled with more stuff that I forget I have because it’s tucked out of the way.

Who needs glorious isolation from the other people living in their home?

I want my home small and snug.

- Frances Cook is the host of the personal finance podcast Cooking the Books. She is not a financial adviser, and all information is general in nature. For individual advice, see a financial adviser.

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