Getting a price

I want to build a new home, and I don't yet have a block of land. Not surprisingly, I have a limited amount of money to spend on the complete build (house and land). I have contacted a few larger builders and asked whether we can get together to discuss possible modifications and get an indicative price. However, they all tell me they won't do this until I have a block of land.
So here is the dilemma (which I have explained to the builder): If I buy a block of land, and the house price is too high, then I can't get the house I want. And I don't want to buy the smallest/least expensive block of land just to ensure I may be able to afford the house. This process seems absurd. Surely it makes sense that someone would like to know the price of the house, so they then know how much they can spend on the block of land (which they will do first).
Is this common practice?

You can ask a copy of their price list for all their designs so you can have some ideas of the design you like and base price indication. If you don’t have the site yet, they cannot really help with the site cost, e.g slop, easement, bushfire zone etc.

I do have the base price, and I understand the site costs can't be determined if there is no site. But why can't they provide a cost for the base price plus modifications (not site dependent)?

Anyone had experience with a builder who would provide a price before they had a block?
I am in Adelaide.

Volume builders probably won't give you a detailed total cost without seeing your land. The aspect of the land and even where the land is can really determine the house you can build. They might be able to give you a quote if you pretend you have a regular sized flat land. What if you end up buying a land on a slop and on a main road. Some builders probably aren't even willing to build after all.
Base price is all they could show you without seeing your land, which is pretty much the same as what they have on their website.
However, you could possibly ask for the extra cost of their standard alternations on their floor plans. Most volume builders offer alternations such as, guest bedroom, extra ensuite, fifth bedroom, grande sitting, large WIR etc. They should be able to tell you how much extra these cost if you want any.

These builders do offer alterations to their floor plan, but they are not prepared to give me a cost of modifications unless I have land.

I approached a few big builders, their final quotes were between $150k-$200k extra on top of their website base prices. This included site costs, plan alternations and upgrades, but no landscaping. Hope this give you a ball park idea?

That's a bit more than I would like! But thanks, it's helpful.

It really depends more on your choices, than the builder. Usually the base price they give is for a flat block of land with S or M class soil and standard inclusions.

So if you're happy with those inclusions, and you find an S or M class block, that fits the house you like, you'll be able to build for not much more than the price they give you. You'll probably have to allow a bit extra for driveway, landscaping and blinds. If you're not happy with the standard inclusions - the sky is the limit. You can easily spend 10k+ just on a fancy kitchen bench stone, if you like.

Thanks Strannik. I also have a few larger modifications, e.g. a few external walls pushed out up to 1m, a change in roofline, etc. It would be good to at least know if they can accommodate these modifications (even if they are not prepared to give the price).

A volume builder probably won't but most others will. But it needs to fit within allowable setbacks on the land you choose.

For example we're currently preparing a completely custom house build from the plans we drew up. The base price we were quoted is similar to the standard house of same area from their range with all standard inclusions. Then come all the extras like fancy tiles, kitchen/bath fitout, site costs for H2 soil and so on.

Thanks again.

Hi all
I am trying to compare house prices from the three big builders in Queensland. However only Coral Homes and Plantation Homes give a base price for all their styles. Metricon does not! I really need a current price list of Metricon Homes but cannot get ahold of one. Most grateful if anyone could tell me where to get it.Thanks.

Go to this forums metricon site.

I'm in Adelaide. It's very hard to get accurate estimations without knowing exactly what changes or inclusions you will have. Still, getting info from builders is hard so I hope the following can help.

Regarding site costs, unless you plan on having a sloped site, they can just add on an allowance over standard as a contingency. They won't have a proper estimation until a soil test is done anyway.

Have very recently had an estimate done (not official quote) based on plans for a 170m2 single storey house with 3 bdr and 2 bath (Kookaburra Homes (KH)). The plan is custom designed by another company. I'll break the estimate into 2 parts.

1. Base price: Standard inclusions such as minimum tiling to wet areas, laminate bench tops, 60cm appliances, minimum code insulation and windows, 450mm eaves, cheapest cladding (not actually sure what this is), ducted RCAC, basic downlights and electrical stuff. No flooring included (no idea why builders do this). No landscpaing included.

Estimate: $253,000 + $20,000 extra site cost allowance (standard site allowance is 'S' class soil and up to 300mm cut and fill).

2. Base price plus flooring and some modest extras: Entry level vinyl plank floors and carpet to bedrooms. Mostly standard inclusions still, bar an upgrade to axon wall cladding and some upgrade to the cabinetry and sink in laundry.

Estimate: $267,000 + $20,000 extra site cost allowance. We'll probably add another $10,000 onto this for other things we decide to upgrade by the time we sign the contract.


That's about $1700/m2 for a pretty standard build (and this is not a final quote so it could be more). KH aren't the cheapest but they're on the cheaper end of the scale. FYI prices have gone up around 30% since covid started.

Also keep in mind once you start adding things like stone bench tops, nice cladding, nice tapware/tiles/cabinetry, you can quickly add on 10s of thousands. Upgrading to stone benchtops and floor to ceiling tiles would cost us close to $15,000.

I hope this helps. It's not easy to get information!