How much to build a new house in NZ?

In 2020, we first published our article: How Much to Build a New House in NZ? Since then, we've updated it regularly, and it remains one of the most popular articles on Canstar's website.

So, over the past six years, how have things changed? Well, one thing remains the same: Auckland is still the most expensive place in NZ to buy property.

But the rise in building costs over the past few years has pushed up the cost of building a new home across the whole country. In many places, once you factor in the price of buying a section, purchasing an existing home can often work out cheaper than building a new house.

Median cost of buying an existing house in NZ

As you can see from the data below – post the Covid-era, low-interest-rate sugar-rush – median house prices have remained pretty consistent, and have been hovering around where they were at the end of 2020.

Source: REINZ

Here's an overview of median prices around the country:

Source: REINZ

Cost of building an average new home

But while house prices have cooled, building costs have continued to rise. Although nothing like the post-Covid spike, when materials shortages saw price inflation rocket to 10%, in late 2022.

According to the most recent Cordell Construction Cost Index, which measures the costs associated with building a regular 200m² three-bedroom, two-bathroom single-storey brick-and-tile house, over 2025, costs rose by 3%, which is slightly behind the long-term average of 4%.

And looking at building consent applications over the past couple of years, average construction costs across the country have remained pretty stable, despite some regional variations.

Note that the dates listed in the tables below cover the 12-months to the end of April of each year:

Note: it's important to remember that prices vary build to build, depending on the size and design of a home, and the above figures are estimates based on national building consent applications, which don't include the full costs of building a new home. For more on the hidden costs of building a new home, see below.

Reflecting national building costs per m², the average prices of consented new builds in most regions have remained stable over the past couple of years, too:

We're building more smaller homes

While myriad factors affect the cost of a new build, one thing is clear, we're building more smaller homes. In the early 2000s, we were building fewer homes than in the mid-1970s. But since then the pace of building has ramped up.

In 2022, the number of new dwellings consented reached a peak of over 50,000. But as you can see below, many of the new homes we're building are more compact. Dwellings consented over the past year are, on average, 10% smaller than those consented back in 2020, and 23% smaller than in 2010.

This has a lot to do with the types of houses we're building. In the year to June 2020, the majority of new builds (59%) were standalone houses. Over the past year, that number dropped to 46%, the majority (54%) being multi-unit housing, such as apartments, townhouses and retirement village units.

Cost of building average standalone home

However, when people decide to build a new home, they usually build a standalone dwelling, and in most regions, new detached homes remain spacious, and well above the national average: 178m² compared to 140m²:

Hidden costs of building a new home

However, even without building cost inflation, when pricing a new build, there are other factors involved that can push up costs.

"When most architects and designers submit building consent applications the build value figure we put in is as low as possible, to keep the consent costs down. Because the value of the build impacts the consent fee," says Trent Simpkin, of Arcline Architecture.

"Yes, it could be considered inaccurate, but councils should only need to know the value of the consentable items. So, for example, if we say a house is $3000 per m² on a consent application, in reality, it's more of a $4000 per m² build.

"The shape and circumference of a home are big players in the cost of the build, too. A square house has the least perimeter of any shape, so is the cheapest to build, as it requires less cladding, insulation, roofing, etc. Whereas a house the same size split into individual pods will cost more."

If you're trying to keep costs down, Trent advises to avoid the following, which could push the cost of your build:

• Elevated sites, exposed to the wind
• Steep (or even not so steep) sites that require retaining walls
• Unsuitable ground requiring engineering design
• Large, square metres of glass (requiring steel portals)
• Open expanses of living areas (requiring engineering due to lack of walls to brace)
• Cantilevered decks, roofs, floors
• Expensive cladding, like cedar, and roofing, such as tray roofing
• Difficult site access
• Any build methods that are time consuming

Build or buy? Which is cheaper?

Before we start the sums, let's just make it clear that we're talking about averages here. Construction costs, the price of existing properties, and land prices vary from region to region, suburb to suburb and house to house.

But it's clear that the price of new builds are at a level where they are comparable, and often more expensive, than buying existing homes, once you factor in land costs.

The most recent government report into land prices reveals that in Auckland, back in 2021, urban-zoned land was valued at around $1300 per m², in Tauranga it was $1100 per m², while in Wellington, Hamilton and Queenstown prices ranged between $400-$500 per m².

The median point in these numbers is around $850 per m². So let's say the average price is $800 per m², because when applied to a typical 500 per m² section, it works out to a cost of $400,000 for an average NZ section.

So if you add the cost of building an average standalone 178m² home in NZ ($576,008) to the cost of an average section ($400,000), you get: $976,008 – pretty much at least a million bucks, and that's before the hidden costs of building.

And what was the national median house price according to REINZ? Yep, around $775,000 – so, yes, buying a section and building a new home on it could well end up costing you considerably more than just buying an average existing home.

Although, at least if you buy a new property, you shouldn't have to worry about renovation or upkeep costs for a few years!