Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 02, 2017 5:24 pm Hi all, I'm new to this forum - I saw a post on Whirlpool which recommended signing up with this if you're looking to build a house. My partner and I are a young couple (22) from Sydney and after saving up as much as possible for the past couple years we are looking to purchase our first block of land within the next few months to construct on within the next 12-24 months. Originally we were hoping to buy land for under 350k and construct under 200k, but friends and family think this is unrealistic. To get the pre approval for a loan, we need to provide an estimate of the land and construction costs to see if we can service the loan once it comes to that point. We are hoping to find land around Denham Court / Leppington area (preferably Stockland Willowdale estate) for under 350k to avoid stamp duty. With that price, comes smaller land - seems to be around 300m²+-20m for 350k-380k. For this land size - around 280-320m², what would the estimate total cost be to construct a single story 3-4 bedroom house, we aren't looking for anything fancy, keeping it basic as we have a plan to use the house as an investment property a few years down the track. Is there also from your experience tips on which builders to go to / which to stay away from? Thank you all in advance Kind regards, Shannon Re: Estimate total cost to construct 2Feb 02, 2017 5:38 pm L4 a home Hi all, I'm new to this forum - I saw a post on Whirlpool which recommended signing up with this if you're looking to build a house. My partner and I are a young couple (22) from Sydney and after saving up as much as possible for the past couple years we are looking to purchase our first block of land within the next few months to construct on within the next 12-24 months. Originally we were hoping to buy land for under 350k and construct under 200k, but friends and family think this is unrealistic. To get the pre approval for a loan, we need to provide an estimate of the land and construction costs to see if we can service the loan once it comes to that point. We are hoping to find land around Denham Court / Leppington area (preferably Stockland Willowdale estate) for under 350k to avoid stamp duty. With that price, comes smaller land - seems to be around 300m²+-20m for 350k-380k. For this land size - around 280-320m², what would the estimate total cost be to construct a single story 3-4 bedroom house, we aren't looking for anything fancy, keeping it basic as we have a plan to use the house as an investment property a few years down the track. Is there also from your experience tips on which builders to go to / which to stay away from? Thank you all in advance Kind regards, Shannon 200k will get u a very basic house and finish 3 or 4 bedroom expect very little nicities and customisation though Re: Estimate total cost to construct 4Feb 02, 2017 6:47 pm We bought 335m2 for $333K in Willowdale last July (price was lower than most per m2 because it has a BAL rating). If you're planning single storey then make sure the lot is long enough to accomodate that - our lot is only 26.3m deep at the shortest and it won't fit a single storey home. All the single storey homes we looked at really needed a minimum of a 30m deep lot. At the time I think the 280m2 lots were about $300K. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 6Feb 03, 2017 7:05 am Double storeys are more expensive. You're probably looking close to $100K more than a single storey on the same lot. It costs more in materials and time to build a double storey. I think even a single storey would be a stretch for $200K honestly. I would suggest going out to meet some builders at display villages and get some price lists. That will give you a better starting point to figure out what you can afford and what size land you need to target. The Willowdale one is good because they know more about the local requirements (council setbacks, soil requirements). Make sure you look at what's included for the price - a lot of builders don't include flooring except in wet areas which took us by surprise. Slab upgrades are pretty much unavoidable in Leppington due to the salinity of the soil. Then there are finishing costs like landscaping, driveway, window coverings. When we were looking most builders would say add $80-100K to the price to get your finished home price. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 7Feb 03, 2017 8:25 am Land prices are ridiculous! We bought in a newer family estate in the Western suburbs of Melbourne 400squares- $260,500 (aug 2015, land titled last dec- 2016) now it's going for close to $350,000 for close to the same patch, nothing exclusive. It's crazy! I suggest you get land ASAP. Build would generally be the same just go up increments say of $5000 every 4ish months (don't quote me on that) depends on the builder. We have chosen a house with Boutique Homes (slowly becoming a volume builder but not really entry level pricing!) for $226000- site costs included in build price close to $15,000. It is a 23 square house 4 bedroom, basic however top kitchen appliances/ceasorstone benches (except laundry) and inclusive of porcelain tiles (a bit more pricey than standard.) In Melbourne prices keep going up for land. We are close to $500k all up (then u have furniture) it's crazy! I'm 24, have a child and work retail part time, I suggest if you don't have a family, work your bum off! I was a bit naive after uni and kept looking for that job that I had the degree for- if I worked full time for 2 years and didnt waste time with working only part time, we would have reached that deposit much more quicker. (My partners work was also quite unstable so it was a challenge) Also factor in front landscaping/driveway -the backyard can always wait a bit. I would definitely encourage you to get build quotes on what you like to get a ball park of the total cost before hitting up the bank! Best wishes and good luck!! Also if your state allows you to have a guarantor, go with it if you have family willing to help! We did that, now the land value has gone up so after we build we will get a valuation and hopefully remove them from the guarantor. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 8Feb 03, 2017 8:30 am Land prices are ridiculous! We bought in a newer family estate in the Western suburbs of Melbourne 400squares- $260,500 (aug 2015, land titled last dec- 2016) now it's going for close to $350,000 for close to the same patch, nothing exclusive. It's crazy! I suggest you get land ASAP. Build would generally be the same just go up increments say of $5000 every 4ish months (don't quote me on that) depends on the builder. We have chosen a house with Boutique Homes (slowly becoming a volume builder but not really entry level pricing!) for $226000- site costs included in build price close to $15,000. It is a 23 square house 4 bedroom, basic however top kitchen appliances/ceasorstone benches (except laundry) and inclusive of porcelain tiles (a bit more pricey than standard.) In Melbourne prices keep going up for land. We are close to $500k all up (then u have furniture) it's crazy! I'm 24, have a child and work retail part time, I suggest if you don't have a family, work your bum off! I was a bit naive after uni and kept looking for that job that I had the degree for- if I worked full time for 2 years and didnt waste time with working only part time, we would have reached that deposit much more quicker. (My partners work was also quite unstable so it was a challenge) Also factor in front landscaping/driveway -the backyard can always wait a bit. I would definitely encourage you to get build quotes on what you like to get a ball park of the total cost before hitting up the bank! Best wishes and good luck!! Also if your state allows you to have a guarantor, go with it if you have family willing to help! We did that, now the land value has gone up so after we build we will get a valuation and hopefully remove them from the guarantor. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 9Feb 03, 2017 9:18 am Just another thing to know about Willowdale specifically - there is a clause in the land contract that you must start building with 12 months FYI. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 10Feb 03, 2017 4:56 pm Thanks Jenifermarie, how much did your house come to in total with the BAL rating? I think we might need to get land with BAL to find something in our price range. But I'd imagine costs would increase due to needing fire protective materials ... Jadeypox - I know right it is increasing so fast, we looked at land in Willowdale last year and there was plenty around for 320k, last lots released were minimum 377k this year! We are trying to get our hands on it ASAP but we need to be able to put a figure of how much we want to borrow first to get a pre approval before we can put a down payment on the land. Unfortunately we don't have anyone who could be a gaurantor for us either, so we are alone on this one. Jenifermarie, yeah we heard about that, I think we should be able start building within 12 months (hopefully) Re: Estimate total cost to construct 11Feb 03, 2017 5:44 pm L4 a home Thanks Jenifermarie, how much did your house come to in total with the BAL rating? I think we might need to get land with BAL to find something in our price range. But I'd imagine costs would increase due to needing fire protective materials ... Jadeypox - I know right it is increasing so fast, we looked at land in Willowdale last year and there was plenty around for 320k, last lots released were minimum 377k this year! We are trying to get our hands on it ASAP but we need to be able to put a figure of how much we want to borrow first to get a pre approval before we can put a down payment on the land. Unfortunately we don't have anyone who could be a gaurantor for us either, so we are alone on this one. Jenifermarie, yeah we heard about that, I think we should be able start building within 12 months (hopefully) We don't have final costs yet because our BAL won't be fixed until the land registers in June and we get an assessment done on the lot. We have a $18K provision for BAL29 right now as that is what the stage report marked our lot as when we got the land but most of the trees opposite have been cleared now, we think it will drop to BAL19 or maybe even 12.5 on registration. BAL12.5 isn't too bad, normally $5-6K extra - it basically means you just have aluminium mesh fly screens, upgraded windows and external doors. It varies greatly by builder too. I haven't found anyone in Willowdale who rated above 12.5 by the time the land registered. I'm not sure where they're selling now but I would guess you might get higher than 12.5 along the edges of the development where they back onto undeveloped land (we're on the riparian corridor in the middle) We had quotes of anywhere from $9K-$18K for our BAL29 provision from different builders. Depends on what their "standard" materials are I guess. It should be lower for a single storey house as there would be less windows and doors. Would you mind sending me the most recent price list if you have it? Stockland take everyone off the mailing list as soon as you buy and it would be good to see how much prices have gone up. We didn't think prices had risen much since last year looking at other developments nearby. I wish we had pushed into the property market when we were younger like you. It doesn't get any easier as you get older It's taken us into our 30s to get to this point so good on you! Re: Estimate total cost to construct 12Feb 03, 2017 6:09 pm Sorry I cant help you with the land bit. We are in Melbourne and have just bought 60km from the CBD for $159 000 (900m2). House wise for $200k you will be building a very, very basic home. I don't think you would be able to build larger than 22 squares for under $200k. We have looked around and spoken to a few builders. For our home of 28 squares with basic extras (stone benches, carpet upgrades etc). Our final house cost is $280k. The base price of our home was $228k. Keep in mind that unless you are buying a house and land package (sometimes these are already worked into the package cost), you also need to pay for site costs on top of the advertised price. These can range from $15k-$30k. They can certainly be higher as well. You will also have stamp duty to pay on your land. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 13Feb 03, 2017 6:51 pm Jacinta.C You will also have stamp duty to pay on your land. Stamp duty varies by state. In NSW first home buyers have stamp duty waived on land under 350K and subsidised up to 450K Re: Estimate total cost to construct 14Feb 03, 2017 7:06 pm Jenifermarie Jacinta.C You will also have stamp duty to pay on your land. Stamp duty varies by state. In NSW first home buyers have stamp duty waived on land under 350K and subsidised up to 450K Oh wow, that's really good. In Victoria, first home "buyers" get their stamp duty at half of the regular rate. However, you have to be occupying your home within 12 months of the land settling. I think the way NSW has done it, is alot fairer. We think we will probably miss out on our refund by a month or two unfortunately. Re: Estimate total cost to construct 15Feb 03, 2017 9:19 pm Wow sounds hefty, so far it looks like the final costs to construct is around the 280k mark even for the basic options... A lot more than I was expecting Jenifermarie what's your email and I'll send you a screenshot Re: Estimate total cost to construct 16Feb 12, 2017 1:54 pm Update: I just spoke with a couple builders today: Elderton homes and Travelle homes: * Elderton homes have a house which can fit on 300m2 block for 230K with standard inclusions and 260K for all the extras (including facade, alfresco etc). * Travelle homes have a similar house but they don't discuss pricing without inclusions as they want all their homes to come with the inclusions. The price varies from 265K to 295K depending on the design. I've been reading some reviews on Elderton homes and I've seen half positive, half negatives, but I guess that's with everything... Anyone have any experience with them or heard from them before? Leaning more towards them due to their pricing is lower. Any other builders that you would recommend that you've had little to no issues with any are reputable to build quality homes on 300m2? Cheers! Shannon Hi, I'd like some advice on the best option please on the estimate options we've been provided from our builder. This is for the… 0 4070 7 12016 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37150 |