The difference in house and land package prices show starkly how the cost of building can vary greatly around the country.
A comparison of two current home and land packages showed an Auckland house cost $2700 per square metre to build compared to one of a similar size in Christchurch which cost $2100 per square metre.
The greatest difference in the cost breakdown was for the land and the foundations - in Christchurch the land cost $250,000 compared to $450,000 in Auckland says Mike Greer Homes’ national sales manager John Callaghan.
Then the typology of the site and the ground conditions of the land can also affect the foundations cost to get the house out of the ground, says Callaghan.
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“If you are building in Christchurch you must take into consideration the geotechnical condition of the land as this can vary from suburb to suburb and will have a major cost implication if your site is TC3 (bad ground).”
To lay a 200sq m foundation on a flat site on good ground costs around $30,000 in Christchurch but to build the same-sized home on a sloping site in Auckland would cost around $55,000 and also might need retaining walls if the site gradient is significant.
Other contributions to variations in costs per square metre are wages, travel time and shortage of labour, especially in the North Island and central Otago, Callaghan says.
“If you were to look at the variation in each of these individual costs it may seem to be minimal but once you have slight increases across 15 different trades the overall cost of building a home does add up.”
Also critical to the cost of a new build is the design, roof profile and cladding.
“A brick square home with a hip roof is far more cost-effective than an H-shaped home with gables clad in cedar.”
However, the good news is that there are areas of the build where it is possible to make savings.
Callaghan gives as an example a house built in Christchurch quoted for $418,000 on a standard foundation.
To reduce the cost of the build to $312,000, he says the following could be changed:
- cedar cladding to brick
- gables removed and replaced with hipped roofs
- the roof pitch decreased from 30 degrees to 25 degrees
- Espan roof cladding (a standing seam roof profile with concealed fixings) replaced with Trimline (a ribbed metal roofing)
- ceramic floor tiles replaced with laminate
Choosing a pre-existing design from a housing company’s standard selection can save time and stress, though the plan may still need to be slightly amended to fit the site, subdivision covenants and council regulations, says Callaghan.
“With over 7000 designs in our portfolio this option is the perfect choice for those looking for a ready-made home solution.”
Buying the right site is vital when building new, he adds.
“You need to make sure all the services are to the boundary and that you will be connected to the local services.”
Some new subdivisions require site-specific low pressure sewer and storm water management systems which control the amount of waste water entering local systems - and that can cost between $10,000 and $30,000.
These sorts of systems will become a common occurrence with the continuation of urban sprawl and the overloading of the current old town systems, Callaghan says. But, he points out that when you buy a house and land package through his company, Mike Greer Homes, such costs are taken care of and accounted for in the presented price.
“When exploring different companies and their home and land packages it is important to ask the sales consultants what is included in your marketed price.
“A number of developers will install retaining walls and create a level building platform for you to build on but this will be reflected in the end land cost.”
Each developer and subdivision is different, Callaghan says.
Callaghan recommends that before buying a section purchasers get hold of the subdivision covenant and design guideline which will outline what is installed and included on the site and what is at the buyer’s cost.
“The design guidelines dictate what materials you can and cannot build with, the minimum house size, and often design features you have to incorporate into the home.”
All those factors can significantly influence the cost of the build but there are still many advantages to building new, says Callaghan.
These include:
- the client designs the space making it functional to their needs
- new homes are warmer and healthier and therefore more cost-effective to run
- a new home can include the latest technology
- a new home is built to meet the most recent build standards
- maintenance will be significantly less than that of an older home, saving time and money
