How Much Does It Cost to Build a House?

TheBardsTale on 10/05/2023 - 21:42
Last edited 10/05/2023 - 21:59

I was looking at some builders' websites, just the typical high volume cookie cutter ones like GJ, Metricon, Dennis Family etc and they don't give any indication on price. I realise it would depend on a lot of factors such as how flat the land is, where the land is, if you want granite benchtops etc, but then again they could always say starts from $500k or something similar.

I was wondering if someone who has recently built a house, if you could give me a ballpark figure of how much a build would cost.

The house I was looking at was Seaview 365 from GJ Gardner homes. It's 365m2, double story.

I'm only interested in knowing what the starting basic price is. We're only just starting to save up for a house and it's still way to early to walk into one of their offices and talk to someone.

I'm in regional Vic

Home & Garden

Comments

  • 87percent on 10/05/2023 - 21:50
    +6

    I hear Porter Davis is good to use

      • jv on 10/05/2023 - 22:38
        +2

        what ????????????????

      • Caped Baldy on 10/05/2023 - 23:01
        +4

        whoooshhh

      • FocusRider on 11/05/2023 - 06:52
        +1

        Godofsarcasm

  • Benoffie on 10/05/2023 - 21:50

    Put it this way, Im looking at a renovation which includes a new bathroom, kitchen, double garage and lounge room and theres no change from $250k ($300k if I want the fancier windows etc).

    Id be budgeting $400k min for single storey and $5-600k min for double (depending on size).

    In SA.

    • jv on 10/05/2023 - 22:39
      +2

      Go for the fancier windows…

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 10:04
      +2

      Jeez, that's crazy

      • Benoffie on 11/05/2023 - 15:01
        +2

        To give you an idea, the garage alone, double, brick veneer, skillion roof, besser brick facia, clerestory windows on the high side is a minimum of $40-45k alone.

        Stonework for porch area, $8k (imported, not really happy about that, I wanted local, now looking at secondhand).

        If I want the Stegbar Alumiere windows (which will last), that's the extra money. But I had to give up on my desire for wood windows (double the price again).

        Building is all about choices and sacrifices. What can you put up with and what are deal breakers.

        • brandt on 19/05/2023 - 09:24
          +1

          The real MVP. Thank you for your input.

  • scatman00 on 10/05/2023 - 21:51

    The state you're building in makes a big difference, but im gonna throw out a figure of 1500 per sqm as the general basic build price that gets thrown around.

    We did about 1100 per sqm about 2 years ago.

    • jv on 10/05/2023 - 22:40
      +8

      The state you're building in makes a big difference

      state of poverty.

      "We're only just starting to save up for a house and it's still way to early"

  • miwahni on 10/05/2023 - 21:51
    +3

    The Clarendon Homes website has building prices for various floor plans. Check the Starting from price, and then add the facade / options / upgrades etc. Site costs will be on top of that. Different builders will have different costs but at least you'll get a ballpark figure for the type of house you're looking for.

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 10:04

      Beautiful, thank you so much. I was only just looking for a ball park figure so this was perfect. Basically a double story house starts at ~500k

  • FrugalDealSeeker on 10/05/2023 - 22:32
    +1

    Quite a few builders have the size of the plans e.g. Homebuyers VIC, Carlisle, Boutique Homes, etc. Of course, you'd still need to add the land costs to it, maybe use Domain to get an approximate based on vacant lands for sale.

  • jv on 10/05/2023 - 22:37
    +1

    How Much Does It Cost to Build a House?

    Straw, sticks or bricks?

  • salmon123 on 10/05/2023 - 22:44
    +2

    Perhaps just email the builder? I'm sure they'll happily give you a price list and a list of inclusions and possible upgrades.

    Site costs will be on top of that.

  • hibiscus on 10/05/2023 - 22:51

    We built 5 years ago in Sydney, so before the builder/materials crunch. Nothing fancy just a double storey family home in western Sydney. At the time, our architect’s advice was $1,200 / m2 for low spec (investor grade) through to > $1,900 ++ for high spec. I think ours came to something like $1,500 / m2 for the build alone. As we went custom, we didn’t have an all in one package like you would get with a project builder, so had to organise and pay separately for bunch of stuff: demo, connections, council fees, certifiers, landscaping, appliances etc. However we had a lot of flexibility to choose what we wanted, not limited to the project builders range, and then saved money for areas we didn’t care about.

  • Godric on 10/05/2023 - 22:56
    +4

    Too much

  • impoze on 10/05/2023 - 22:58

    Where's the poll?

    • spackbace on 10/05/2023 - 23:06
      +4

      Still saving for that

  • boomramada on 10/05/2023 - 23:24

    Ballpark figure is $500k + things that wife/partner wants.

  • SpicyPeanut on 10/05/2023 - 23:44
    +9

    Don't forget the cost on your mental health

  • ifyareckon on 11/05/2023 - 05:27

    Worth walking through some displays of various builders. They will have price lists available as well as being able to tell you the prices of the houses you are seeing "as displayed". this will give you an idea of the base cost v what you could be up for once you start adding all the extras. You could be surprised how quickly the costs add up which may affect the house you are looking at.

  • Porker on 11/05/2023 - 05:37
    +1

    I recently asked a builder and $25,000 per square (not square metre) was quoted for a mid level quality home. $35,000 per square is getting up to the high end quality.

    I've had this builder build for me in the past so I know what their version of (the subjective) mid and high qualities are.

    The price excludes the land but includes everything else such as landscaping and driveway/crossover. Most volume builders won't include these items in their quotes.

    I've had property built by the above builder and also by a volume builder which tends to be death by a thousand cuts.

    • Euphemistic on 11/05/2023 - 06:32

      What measurement is a square?

      • Muzeeb on 11/05/2023 - 06:41

        9.29m² or 100ft²

    • kiitos on 11/05/2023 - 08:10

      If the price includes landscaping, does that mean the entire landscaped area plus 2 x house footprint is included in the calculations?

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 10:06

      Jeez, that's so much!

      a 30 square house would be $750k

      • Porker on 11/05/2023 - 10:21
        +1

        My first house with that builder wasn't as expensive as the mentioned (low) $25,000, but costs have increased by about 30%.

        Prices are bound to vary depending on what quality of house you're looking at and what you want to be included. As example, with my recent volume builder build, the landscaping cost $15,000, driveway another $10,000 and crossover was about $2000, plus the hassle of coordinating it all.

        Not saying it's cheap, just presenting what I was given not to long ago as indicative cost for inner Melbourne build.

      • hibiscus on 11/05/2023 - 21:29
        +1

        It sounds about right; $750k, deduct say 100 for basic landscaping, driveways, fencing etc, leaves 650 for 30 squares ~ 279 m2, so $2,300 ish per m2 for mid quality. That’s the avg going rate for project builders with all the upgrades, but the quality is far lower than a custom builder charging the same rate.

        When we signed 6 years ago with the custom builder, it came to $1,500 per m2 for med quality, so that’s an increase of 50% over the years.

        When you see project builders price list “from $550 etc”, that’s just their base rate with investor grade finish - it’s like the nastiest finish (2.4 ceiling, that cove profile for cornices, the laundry would just be the tub, and kitchen would be similar to cheap laundry flat pack you see in Bunnings; bathroom would only be tiled up to skirting height except for shower, facade would be a brick box). You can’t even ask them to leave out the kitchen for you to install it later, because they can’t give you an occupancy certificate without finishing the kitchen. When you go to one of those homeworlds, find a builder that has an investor grade display, and ask to see it. I guarantee you will be appalled by the finish, which I guess is what they’re counting on, so that you take all the upgrades.

  • Sinnerator on 11/05/2023 - 08:49
    +2

    It costs as much as the builder believes they can SUCK out of you*!
    Prove me wrong.

    *whilst providing substandard everything

  • Drj55 on 11/05/2023 - 09:08
    +6

    The general rule is that it costs twice as much as you were planning.

  • sane on 11/05/2023 - 09:12

    Builders pitch their prices to the price of existing houses (- the price of land) - such that they can extract the maximum profit from you.

  • Grunntt on 11/05/2023 - 09:18
    +1

    We're only just starting to save up for a house and…
    I'm in regional Vic

    I wouldn't even be looking at a build for my first home, especially if you're regional.

    Too many unknown costs/issues to set any sort of budget.

    If you keep an eye on the current and ongoing prices achieved for sales of existing properties in the area you prefer you will have a much closer estimate for your savings plan.

    You also will see exactly what you are getting for your money with an existing property vs hoping what they build matches their promises and your expectations.

    Also no chance of a builder going broke part the way through the build with the resultant dramas for you.

  • ForkSnorter on 11/05/2023 - 09:47
    +3

    What I'm seeing is, say a block costs $500k, and building a basic house on it costs minimum $500k. An established house (probably nicer) right next to it will sell for $800-$900k. Almost not worth it to build a new house.

    • aquie5t on 11/05/2023 - 09:56

      With construction costs at the moment and interest rates high pushing housing prices down slightly, buying a already built home is by far the better deal. At some point this will turn, but probably not for a few years at least.

      • neezy on 11/05/2023 - 14:15

        unless you're paying stamp duty?

  • orangetrain on 11/05/2023 - 13:05
    +1

    Don't forget to double the quote to factor in post-build inspection, legal and therapy costs.

  • neezy on 11/05/2023 - 14:13

    We built with Boutique Home (via HomeBuyer Centre), so did my neighbor. Other neighbor built with Carlisle Homes. Area is New Northern Melbourne (past Craigieburn).

    Both these builders show base pricing on their websites. Never heard of G.J. Gardner. Most home builders I'm aware of use still use old imperial (i.e. Squares, which is 10x10ft=100sqft) as their design measurement, as opposed to meters squared. Pretty much 3mx3m is 1 sqaure. But yeah, I'm sure you can work it out.

    https://www.gjgardner.com.au/home-designs/seaview-365
    So this is double story, 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2 garage, 14m width lot…

    Use those as filters for the builders below
    https://www.boutiquehomes.com.au/
    https://carlislehomes.com.au/

    Again base pricing is one thing, def not full picture though, but I'm sure you're are aware of that, as it wasn't your question.

    • neezy on 11/05/2023 - 14:13

      For other people reading this, other things to consider would be what's standard/included and what costs more e.g. driveway. Some builder have packages for upgrades, so check how much variations will be. Not all builders will do any customisation. Hopefully they fix your site costs too, in case of any unforeseen nasties.

      Personal experience for a 25sq 4bed, 2bath, 2car, single story = $230k base + $40k variations, $25k siteworks, $7k add-ons… so what's that? just over 30%?
      Obvs not an exact formula, esp since double story. ~$500k would be ~$650k if it was. Someone could confirm if that's accurate.

      Then after that, obvs there landscaping (fencing, front, back, deck). Hopefully you get heating (has to be included) and cooling (doesn't have to be included) sorted within the loan, unless they tricked you into saying it'll be cheaper done afterwards, lol. Well, it prob will be, but I'd rather pay more in a loan, then a little less upfront.

  • namzz on 11/05/2023 - 14:19

    Porter Davis client here, lucky we had DBI (domestic building insurance) so got our full 5% refund back as we literally started construction (site fill) the Thursday 30/03/2023 and PD went into liquidation 31/03/2023.

    To answer your question, if its a green fields build (new estate) then your site costs would be around 25-35k on top of the advertised price. If its a knock down rebuild, then allow 60-120k for site costs plus the demolition costs 15-25k. Then any upgrades you want on top of that eg upgrading tiles, carpet, taps, aircon, lighting, power points etc - allow approx 50-150k.

    Then allow extra for driveway, concrete apron, landscaping, fencing etc

    • godofpizza on 11/05/2023 - 14:34

      that's so terrible with the PD collapse. Have you been able to secure another builder yet?

      • namzz on 11/05/2023 - 14:36

        Yes, I'm just about to sign with a custom builder to use my plans and get the house built

        We literally just knocked down the house in Jan this year too!

        • godofpizza on 11/05/2023 - 14:44

          alot of pepole have mentioned that new builders have been quoting 20%-30% over the orignal contract price and been left out of pocket. Considering materials have gone up since contracts, has the DBI payout been able to cover your difference?

          • namzz on 11/05/2023 - 14:49

            @godofpizza: the DBI payout was only the 5% that i paid to date so the difference between new contract vs PD ill be out of pocket.

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 17:28

      A few people mentioned site costs. Is that just things like soil test + flattening the land + cutting trees that may be there etc

      • namzz on 12/05/2023 - 10:04

        site costs are upgrades to the slab depending on soil type, any O&HS costs, traffic controllers etc etc

      • Grunntt on 13/05/2023 - 09:23

        Make sure you have a lawyer, that is experienced with building contracts, explain the contract to you before you sign anything.
        I had one contract that had so many of the site costs listed as my responsibilty to organise and pay for - but of course the builder would add them on as a variation for a fee if we wanted. eg we would have been responsible for the placement of tiger tails on the power lines as well as providing an all-weather crossover from road to property line.
        The total cost of all of these additional items was over $7,000.

        I also had a knockdown/rebuild specialist that listed in the contract that it was our responsibilty to arrange the knockdown. (they never mentioned this in any of the face to face discussions with them)

        In the end we found it much simpler to purchase, for a lower price, a 10 year old property that exceeded what we would have been able to build.

  • 2esc on 11/05/2023 - 14:28

    Are you after a house or a mcmansion?

    Start price $250,000 then just keep adding. Dont forget concrete driveway, shed concrete for the shed etc etc.

    Do you already have land?

    House and land packages about $500,000 from several different builders in regional Victoria.

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 17:26

      Certainly nothing McMansion-y, but there are a few things that I was looking for.
      1) 3-4 bedroom house
      2) WIR for master bedroom
      3) Big kitchen + butlers pantry/walk in pantry
      4) outside area that can be made into an outdoor kitchen (eventually)

  • jrvb42 on 11/05/2023 - 15:59

    Hugely depends on what state you're in. Also greatly depends on quality of fit out, single or double storey, proportion of open space, soil elasticity, any slope, how much you'll do yourself (the princess factor) and a whole heap of other things. It's an unanswerable question.
    Having said that, I would budge $150/sqm, because I'm a tightarse and this is Ozb.

  • Ghost47 on 11/05/2023 - 16:22

    Don’t worry about the cost too much. If you do it up nicely there’ll be someone out there frothing at the mouth to pay 2-3x what you spent building it.

    • TheBardsTale on 11/05/2023 - 17:24

      The issue is just the down payment tbh. I've only just started earning an income, and realistically I was just looking to see how many years before we would have 20% deposit.

  • Hol on 11/05/2023 - 17:30

    Have a look at your current house insurance policy they generally give a cost to rebuild after loss

  • Tiredman on 11/05/2023 - 22:17

    Building two now in inner east Melbourne. Way too many factors to consider (land size, land shape, easements, plans and permits, finishings, covenants, native trees etc etc…) . We have a sloped land and paying around $2100 per square meter which is fairly reasonable. These are custom 3 storey homes with basements and fairly decent finishings. This excludes landscaping. If you ever want to start building and need some advise, feel free to pm me.

    • paupp3993 on 19/05/2023 - 10:49

      hi Hodler, can i pls have more infor from you , im after a 4 x 2 x 2 house ,around 220-240mm² total, would you know how much per square meter ? thanks

    • Kingsway on 05/09/2023 - 21:42

      Hi Holder,

      Appreciate if I can reach out to you to for your advise? Can't seem to PM you. Thanks

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