Building Costs: How Much to Build a New House in NZ? In this article we cover:
Four years ago, we published a story on our website about the most expensive regions in New Zealand to build a new home. Ever since, it’s been one the most popular stories on our website. So we’ve decided to revisit the cost of a new build to see how things have changed.
Back then, Auckland had the highest average house prices, and Otago was the most expensive region for a new build home.
In 2016, the average cost of a new build in Otago was $396,000, for the cost of the house alone, without land. This compared to $390,000 in Auckland. Nationally, the average was $346,000, or $1906 per m².
So, since then, how have things changed?
The cost of a new build in 2020
Err, not much! Prices have gone up everywhere. But according to the latest data from Stats NZ, Otago remains the most expensive place to build a new home. In all, it boasts the biggest homes and the highest construction costs per m².
Of course, given that the Queenstown-Lakes District is the playground of the wealthy, this should come as no surprise. It only takes one or two billionaires’ international holiday homes to skew the data.
However, after crunching the numbers from the building consent data from January to July 2020, Canstar’s number geeks did throw up some surprises.
When looking at the average cost per m², regions such as Nelson and Hawke’s Bay come out as more expensive than Auckland, and not too far behind Otago.
Nationally, the average cost per m² sits at $2238, and the average price of a new build is $428,791. But from region to region, the numbers look like this:
| Region | $ per m2 | Average Price |
| Otago | $2659 | $547,672 |
| Wellington | $2495 | $434,790 |
| Nelson | $2431 | $439,366 |
| Hawke’s Bay | $2429 | $478,784 |
| Northland | $2330 | $456,747 |
| Bay of Plenty | $2279 | $389,658 |
| Tasman | $2276 | $410,033 |
| Auckland | $2248 | $451,910 |
| Gisborne | $2235 | $402,322 |
| Waikato | $2204 | $421,019 |
| Marlborough | $2119 | $429,860 |
| Canterbury | $2066 | $392,801 |
| Manawatu-Whanganui | $2051 | $374,214 |
| Southland | $2003 | $372,835 |
| West Coast | $1993 | $310,962 |
| Taranaki | $1990 | $362,717 |
Average costs are estimates based on building consent applications and exclude fees and land prices.
We’re building more, bigger homes!
Three years ago, we built fewer homes than in the mid-1970s. However, since then the pace of building has ramped up. Last year, 37,538, new dwellings were consented, up 14% on 2018. And this year, by the end of July, we’d already hit 22,141 consents.
However, these numbers look likely to represent a peak. Indeed, since March this year, the number of overall new building consents has tailed off. Whether the drop is due solely to COVID-19, or whether it’s just part of the cyclical nature of the building industry remains to be seen.
But one trend that doesn’t look like stopping is the increasing size of the homes we’re building. Since our last story, in 2016, the average size of a new Kiwi home has increased by 10m2:
| 1974 | 2004 | 2016 | 2020 Jan-July | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Homes consented | 38,000 | 33,000 | 30,000 | 22,141 |
| Average floor area | 110m2 | 181m2 | 182m2 | 192m2 |
Although region to region, there’s still quite a difference in the size of houses we’re building:
| Region | Average Size |
| Otago | 206m2 |
| Marlborough | 202m2 |
| Auckland | 201m2 |
| Hawke’s Bay | 197m2 |
| Northland | 196m2 |
| Bay of Plenty | 191m2 |
| Canterbury | 190m2 |
| Southland | 186m2 |
| Taranaki | 182m2 |
| Manawatu-Whanganui | 182m2 |
| Nelson | 181m2 |
| Gisborne | 180m2 |
| Tasman | 180m2 |
| Wellington | 174m2 |
| Bay of Plenty | 171m2 |
| West Coast | 156m2 |
New build: construction loans
If you’re considering a new build, wherever you are in the country, it’s worth reading our story What is a Construction Home Loan. For as you’ll see, the structure of a loan to build a new home is usually different to a standard home loan.
It’s also imperative for you to check out the current home loans available in the market. The table below is just a snapshot of the current floating rate building loans available, for a loan amount of $350,000 if building in Auckland, sorted by Star Rating (highest to lowest). If you’re interested in comparing for other regions, just click on the big button below!
Home building firms
There is a wide selection of home-building firms in NZ, most offering both stand-alone homes, plus home and land packages. Here is a list of some of the biggest:
Build7 – nationwide group of independent builders offering homes and homes and land packages.
Compass Homes – over 70 home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
David Reid Homes – 75 home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Fowler Homes – thousands of home plans to draw upon, nationwide, home and land packages.
Generation Homes – range of home designs, Northland to Christchurch, home and land packages.
GJ Gardner Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Highmark Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Jennian Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Landmark Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Latitude Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Lockwood Homes – range of pine home designs, nationwide.
Platinum Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Sentinel Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Signature Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Stonewood Homes – range of home designs, nationwide, home and land packages.
Trident Homes – range of home designs, Franklin, Bay of Plenty and east coast and lower parts of South Island, home and land packages.
Enjoy reading this article?
You can like us on Facebook and get social, or sign up to receive more news like this straight to your inbox.
By subscribing you agree to the Canstar Privacy Policy
Share this article