What factors to consider when choosing a builder for your new home

If you are fortunate to be in a position to have a vacant block of land and are about to build a house, the first thing you should do is do some pre-design as I described in my last blog which you can read here.

Once you know roughly what you want and have had some designs drawn up, it's now time to engage a builder.

But there are still a myriad of decisions to make!

So how do you choose a builder to suit you?

The first things to consider is your budget. It's vital that you have a realistic idea of how much you want to spend on your new home as price can vary widely from $10,000 to $40,000 a a square meter.

In the trade, that's how we price building projects, by the square meter so it's good to get use to the terminology. I know it's strange to think that a meter of bedroom or hall way is the same cost as a kitchen or bathroom, but it all evens out in the end because most homes have similar features.

So how big is the average house? Well it's been growing here in Australia over the years on the back of the 30 year housing boom and we now have some of the largest houses in the world (source: Commsec). Only the USA has bigger ones. Add to this that Victorians have the biggest houses in Australia and you start to see why housing prices are so high.

The average floor size of an Australian home is 186.3 square metres, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The average house sizes have actually been reducing over the last decade, from the McMansion period, as more and more people recognise that design is far more important than space.

It's critical to know your own budget but understand there will be additional costs as 90% of people will end up upgrading at least $100,000 divided between in ground costs, upgraded decor and fixtures and fittings (carpets, curtains, appliances, home automation etc)

So one example of all this is, if you wanted to spend $1million on your home, budget for an $800,000 building costs and allow 20% for additional costs in adjustments, structural changes and even new furniture.

That way you might end up with a bit left over, but you will not run out of cash if there are certain things that you really want in your home.

At LB Living we are about in the middle of the market with the builders we use at about $20,000 per square meter. The difference with our service is we will help you save money where we can and suggest changes that will make your living spaces more practical and useful. Then we help you find the right builder for your budget and style.

The big volume home builders do have cool designs and big spaces, but there isn't much flexibility in design so if you are on a tight budget, this is a good way to go.

At the end of the day, the choice of builder really depends on how much you want to make it your own home.

I hope this helps you in the building process and give me a shout if you need any more tips.

Cheers Danny