How much does it cost to build a house in Sydney ?
We all love the idea of building our dream home. Taking care of every detail to create the perfect place to live—but we all equally know this can be very costly. How much does it cost to build a house in Sydney?
The average cost for a lot and to build a house in Sydney combined is $844,000. The median cost for a lot is $495,000 in itself. The building costs can vary anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000, depending on the quality of the build. Luxury and premiums builds are in the region of $5,000 per square metre.
There are a huge variety of costs involved with building your own house. It’s really important going in that you know and understand everything you’re paying for. Read on to find out more.
What costs the most when building a house?
The first thing you’ll need to be paying for is the lot. Flat builds typically start at around $12,000, whereas this more than doubles to $25,000 for a sloped build. This is, naturally, a big expense in itself. But you’ll also have to consider how the cost of the site work could vary depending on the terrain, and the size of the lot. Is it sloped, or rocky? Is there already a building on it that needs to be demolished? All these factors will affect the cost.
You’ll also need to consider connections to local utilities. Depending on the ease or difficulty of connection, this could affect the price quite drastically.
Then, you’ll have to look at each part of your house in detail. As we mentioned, the building costs will vary depending on what you are looking for. Some parts of the house can add huge amounts to the final bill if modified for a more premium build. Roofing and tiling, for example, or substantial fixtures in the kitchen or bathroom. Plus, the actual exterior look and material for your house will affect the costs. Would you consider a Sydney weatherboard house beneficial? Or maybe you want to stick with a modern rendered Sydney home.
What about fencing and walls? Whether or not you need a retaining wall or a fence built will affect the price, again depending on the size of the wall. A brick or stone wall will cost on average around $5,000, and more for a larger garden.
There are, unfortunately, an endless amount of costs to consider when building a house in Sydney—but these are some of the biggest to think about.
How is a project house different from a custom built house?
On average, the cost of a project house is lower than if you had a house of similar size custom built. Again, naturally, it depends on the build itself. You could have a custom home built in Sydney that was cheaper than many project houses are. But this isn’t often the case.
This makes sense, given that a custom-built house is built to your specifications—whereas a project home is preplanned by the builder and architect. If they have a design that fits your lot, you can save as much as 30% on a project home rather than a custom build.
That being said, with all of the factors affecting building costs, you might still find a way to have a custom house for less. There are people who have reported saving as much as 15% on a custom home compared to their project home options.
How much do house utility connections to a new home cost in Sydney?
Utilities. It’s not the most exciting cost, but it’s one you’ve got to think about. Connections to utilities can be a big factor affecting cost depending on your lot. In Sydney, your cost for connections could be around $20,000 if you’re in a convenient location. In some cases, you could be paying closer to $40,000. This should include all of your utility connections but is greatly influenced by your house location.
You’ll need to be connected to water, sewage, electricity, and gas. For project homes, often these costs will be included in the final bill. And you might want these connections to run both to your house and your new insulated brick garage.
This should be one of your main considerations when choosing a lot, especially if you are trying to keep within a strict budget. It’s a good idea to have a surveyor come out and analyse the potential cost for connections that you would be facing.
How much does fencing and landscaping for a new Sydney home cost?
Landscaping can include a great many different services depending on what’s in your yard. The simplest rule of thumb is that landscaping costs in Sydney are usually 5-10% of the total value of the house.
This can seem like a lot on bigger houses—for instance, in a $500,000 home, you would be spending at least $25,000 on landscaping. You should remember, though, that landscaping includes all your paving and driveways, too. So, again, it will vary tremendously depending on what you’re after. But it shouldn’t be more than 10% of the total cost, in any case.
Fencing can be another big expense in itself. Standard fencing jobs are priced in the region of $75 per square metre. Bigger jobs that need extra work can go higher than this.
Materials and fence length, plus installation preparation will be the main price affecting factors.
Landscaping can incur some of the biggest unexpected expenses when building a new house. There may be extra foundational work that has to be done. If you want a very large garden on your property, be aware it will drive the price up a lot. It’s a good idea to create a landscape design that you know you will be able to maintain well. Then you know you will have your money’s worth.
Building a whole house can be quite stressful at times. If you’re looking for a change, have you considered renovations instead? You could redo your bathroom and add new shower tiles to freshen it up. We have a lot of advice for your house decoration, renovation and style queries in our Paragon Tools resources. Do you have a fireplace you don’t particularly care for? Check out our block on covering up unwanted fireplaces! For your renovation needs, be sure to check out our bricklaying, grinding and cutting tools.
