Building additional houses

Hi,

My auntie just visited me earlier today and told me a story which really made me think what other possible solutions could be pursued OR whether real estate is really worth it?

She has an IP with council approval to build another property in the backyard of the existing property.

She approached an architect (costing $10k to draw up a plan), then approached a builder who quoted $250k to build it.

She obviously decided to call off building another property in the backyard, however I was wondering if anyone could provide their views in relation to this?

My thoughts are that:
– by reading few newspapers, renovation levels are skyrocketing and hence demand for builders etc would be high and hence the quote of such an extra terrestrial amount hence wait for a while for another quote OR renovation levels have no effect on the demand of builders

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Kw