Cost of construction per m2

Discussion in 'Development' started by albanga, 18th Jan, 2016.

Join Australia's most dynamic and respected property investment community
  1. albanga

    albanga Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    2,701
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hi All,
    I am trying to get an idea of how to calculate cost per m2 of a construction. I am building a 2 story townhouse:
    Dwelling Size - 170m2
    Garage - 23
    Deck - 17
    Porch - 8
    Total Size = 218m2

    I just had a few questions I was hoping to clarify:

    Looking online, It seems about $1600 per m2 for a medium range finish is the going price?

    If that is the case do you calculate that across everything or just the dwelling and have different cost associated to garages/decks.etc?

    If I calculate the total size by $1600 then I have around 50k discrepancy between my build quote and the cost of 350k. There is a provisional sum of 15k for a retention system that i require so still that is a 35k difference. I have however requested some additions such as hardwood floors, bi-fold doors, stone upgrades.etc but my question is would these things not be part of a "medium range" finish home?

    When talking rough cost per m2 how do you identify what you get for each quality of finish? I appreciate this changes per builder but is there anywhere which shows for what finish you should get?
    For example i appreciate low finish would be perhaps cheap tiles, low quality carpet, laminate beches.etc. But what about medium and high end finishing?

    Thanks in advance
     
  2. Simon N

    Simon N Member

    Joined:
    15th Dec, 2015
    Posts:
    18
    Location:
    NSW
    $1600m2 will probably cover the living area of the house. allow $1000m2 for the garage and about $800m2 for the deck and porch and you should be reasonably close to a builders range type finish. Throw in stone bench tops and bi-fold doors and hardwood floors plus better carpet you can allow another $15000 on top of that. High end finishes could be anything.. start at $25000m2 and go up from there.
     
  3. SerenityNow

    SerenityNow Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    27th Nov, 2015
    Posts:
    267
    Location:
    Victora
    I asked my banker friend (who deals with developers) about costs of construction, indicating that a certain quantity surveyor claimed 1600/sqm to be mid-range finishes. He said that the cost base his bank goes off of is much higher, dissed the QS firm I mentioned, and recommended three QS firms (I can only remember Charter Keck Cramer off that list) which give a much higher cost base.

    Although, this all begs the question, "what is mid-range"?
     
  4. sanj

    sanj Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    3,461
    Location:
    Perth
    Medium range finish in a 500k suburb and in. 1.5m suburb are 2 different things. Type of construction, soil, flatness of block, dimensions of block ( a long narrow 200 sqm house costs more to build than a wider and shorter one of the same size) all affect the price. Also, are you talking to turnkey stage?

    General rates like this can be useful to compare like for like product, eg if you're building basic designed mid range 500k single storey 3x2s in say Balga the rates from other similar projects can be a useful guide. Without context though they mean nothing
     
    SerenityNow likes this.
  5. Aconis

    Aconis Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    14th Oct, 2015
    Posts:
    134
    Location:
    Perth
    Hi @sanj sorry if this seems like a silly question but why does the dimensions of the block affect costings? Assuming the overall perimeters are similar to each other long narrow vs wide and short.
     
  6. sanj

    sanj Well-Known Member Premium Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    3,461
    Location:
    Perth
    Actually if you adD up the parameters for a say a 10x50 house you've got 120m for the 500sqm but a 20 x 25 is only 90m perimeter so is cheaper to build, all else being equal.

    Not a silly question at all btw! That's what this forum is for after all.
     
  7. Aconis

    Aconis Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    14th Oct, 2015
    Posts:
    134
    Location:
    Perth
    Thanks @sanj . Obvious when you put it in front of me.
     
    sanj likes this.
  8. Cactus

    Cactus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jan, 2016
    Posts:
    1,445
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Volume builders can be as cheap as $9k/sq turnkey.

    Architect boutique builds can be more than $30k/sq.
     
  9. teetotal

    teetotal Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    7th Nov, 2015
    Posts:
    736
    Location:
    Sydney
    Examples please :)
     
  10. Cactus

    Cactus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jan, 2016
    Posts:
    1,445
    Location:
    Melbourne
    I'm about to sign up a 22sq home with Simonds that eill come in at $215k including a $1k rebate back to me for blinds, landscape and driveway.

    Now that's about $9750/sq

    BUT I have gone to town on upgrades which is not necessarily a smart thing for an IP in this location but i have my reasons for it.

    Could easily have come in at $9k turnkey.

    Most volume builders in Melb have homes that start from $7500/sq. Once you include floor civerings and turnkey for rental should be able to do it for $9k/sq at a base to med spec.

    Edit: look for best promo at time like spend $15k get $45k of upgrades.
     
  11. Cactus

    Cactus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jan, 2016
    Posts:
    1,445
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Simonds
    Burbank
    DEnnis Family Homes
    Home Byyer Centre
    Sienna Homes
    Frenken Homes
    Easy Living
    Simonds express
    8 homes
     
    Binda likes this.
  12. mrdobalina

    mrdobalina Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,930
    Location:
    there's more to life than working
    FYI for those that might be slightly confused.

    1 sq refers to 100 square feet (imperial unit used in America) = 9.29 square metres.

    Buildings in Australia no longer use the square as a unit of measure, and has been replaced by square metres.
     
    Mustafa Salehi and Sackie like this.
  13. Cactus

    Cactus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jan, 2016
    Posts:
    1,445
    Location:
    Melbourne

    Whilst we no longer use imperial for measuring any grouped material or room sizes, I find that nearly every plan I look at still contains a builders square measurement for the total areas. So I wouldn't say it has been completely replaced as it sits side by side the m2 measurement on any plans I have looked at whether they be drafty's or volume builder.

    Given I have only ever been aware of metric in my lifetime it may be strange but I find imperial still relevant for two things:

    Measuring newborns weight and height.
    &
    Total area of a house build.
     
  14. mrdobalina

    mrdobalina Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    22nd Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    1,930
    Location:
    there's more to life than working
    I don't think we in the west ever used squares, so I was a bit confused and had to Google it.
     
  15. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    27,103
    Location:
    Sydney or NSW or Australia
    As we don't actually use squares as a measure it is unclear whether they are referring to 10 m2 or 100 sq ft.

    Qlders often use perches when referring to land size as well.

    @albanga - are you building a single townhouse or several? If building 3+ you get economies of scale whereas a single t/h will be more costly (site establishment costs are spread over more units etc).
     
  16. EN710

    EN710 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    3,218
    Location:
    Melburn
    Hum, are you going with project builder? What is your definition of medium finish?

    My build will cost about $1100 per Sqm, caesarstones on kitchen, bathroom and ensuite, higher ceiling, taller door and include some nice upgrades. This is for 27sq house
     
  17. albanga

    albanga Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    19th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    2,701
    Location:
    Melbourne
    @Scott No Mates this is a single build townhouse. 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom double storey. I am building at the rear of my old PPOR I recently sold.
    One thing I did not mention is I am quite a diligent person and the builder I have chosen was the cheapest of 6 others. Now before someone says something about not going cheap TBH this was just the sweetner, I had pretty much selected him prior to receiving the quote for a heap of other reasons and the fact the quote came in cheaper was a nice bonus.

    The biggest discrepancy in quotes was 25k and comparing finishes they are very similar so they must have used similar quoting metrics.

    @EN710 the builder does both project and custom builds. $1100 sounds incredibly cheap! Who is your builder? My quote includes stone benches in the kitchen and bathrooms, high ceilings, good quality inclusions which I checked against Reece who they use, a huge deck, James hardie cladding to 1st floor, render to the entire lower level.etc. It is going to be a very beautiful home I know that much.
     
    frank22, Sackie and Scott No Mates like this.
  18. AndrewTDP

    AndrewTDP Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    1st Jul, 2015
    Posts:
    764
    Location:
    Newcastle
    Rawlinsons quotes 1800 per sqm...
     
  19. MM65

    MM65 Member

    Joined:
    3rd Mar, 2016
    Posts:
    22
    Location:
    Melbourne
    Hello Albanga,
    Great Post.
    I am a newbie and in the process of choosing a builder for 4 x 2br Townhouses in Reservoir. How did you go about getting a builder who is diligent and provides value. Thank you.
     
  20. Sackie

    Sackie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    18th Jun, 2015
    Posts:
    25,035
    Location:
    Vaucluse, Sydney.
    Love it, will be great @albanga. I am doing very similar with one of my developments. The james hardie cladding, which type are you going to use? Matrix?

    Cheers