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| Thread ID: 80350 | 2007-06-20 02:11:00 | Cost of House Building in NZ | Winston001 (3612) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 560812 | 2007-06-20 10:55:00 | To be fair those charges are nothing compared to the commissions charged by real estate agents. You da man!! :thumbs::thumbs: |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 560813 | 2007-06-20 11:02:00 | I doubt that is the reason, as brick veneer buildings have been built here in NZ for at least 50 years. You have to have a timber frame behind the brick layer, otherwise the walls wouldn't be able to resist lateral loads from earthquakes. A brick house build with load bearing walls, would collapse in an earthquake. Thanks, good point. What about concrete blocks? Motels and modern student accomodation are built with single block walls. Presumably they are earthquake-proof. Firth make an insulated block which has a sleeve of polystyrene in the middle. www.firth.co.nz |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 560814 | 2007-06-20 11:06:00 | The land cost is also influenced (= hugely increased) by the conveyancing charges of the NZ solicitors? No no GF. Economics 101 - the value of the land is enhanced by the modest land title protections generously provided by solicitors. As a provider of abstract and arcane services yourself I'm sure you understand. And please, no more horses heads - the cat is quite fat enough. :cool: |
Winston001 (3612) | ||
| 560815 | 2007-06-20 11:12:00 | Thanks, good point. What about concrete blocks? Motels and modern student accomodation are built with single block walls. Presumably they are earthquake-proof. Firth make an insulated block which has a sleeve of polystyrene in the middle. www.firth.co.nz Concrete block is a different beast, as concrete blocks are filled with reinforced concrete, which give them the required strength. The actual contrete blocks themsleves don't provide any lateral support. I have found concrete block is about 20% more expensive to build with than light timber framed construction. |
rogerp (6864) | ||
| 560816 | 2007-06-20 15:42:00 | In Brisbane it is not the cost of building the house that gets one, it's the price of the land, to get a block land anywhere in a good location the prices start round the $A250K mark and as one gets closer to the centre it goes up. Unfortunately, due to various taxes on development and stamp duty, the land price can be carrying as much as $60-70K in levies and taxes, which of course is passed onto the end user - the home buyer. A respectable house over 200 sq mtrs from a builder developer starts about $110K, but as the extras and enhancements get added in it can add about 50% to the cost, but what one ends up with is still a better deal than could be hoped for in Auckland. I lived in Howick for 25 years,before moving to Brisbane, and the price of a small block in that area when we left 2 years ago was still less than one would pay for a comparable home site in a similar quality suburb. Cleveland is a very pleasant town in Redlandshire, on the end of the city commuter rail, some 30 km from Brisbane CBD, (similar in many ways to Howick) and a 600sq mtr level building site will set one back round $A260K - bloody good value by Auckland standards. The house we plan to build there next year, when we sell up our Management Rights Business, is around 250 sq mtrs, 3 double B/Rms with built in robes, main with a large en-suite, large study home office, large lounge and formal dining, plus a generous family room adjacent to the kitchen. It has been costed with all the desirable bells and whistles, including insulated to Kiwi Standards, with ducted air con, and a large covered patio, and is budgeted to cost just short of $A200K. The package will cost $A475K tops - transplant it to the Howich area and add 50% to the market value. Many Aussies of course are whinging about the disappearing affordability of housing, but an ex-pat Kiwis, if they owned a home in Auckland sees it as good value for money. Will build that in Ch Ch for $375000.In toto. |
Cicero (40) | ||
| 560817 | 2007-06-20 18:37:00 | I don't understand why building a house is so expensive in New Zealand. In Australia and the USA they seem to be able to build perfectly nice houses for 50%-70% of the cost here. Why is that and is anyone doing anything about it? MP calls for businessman Richwhite to be jailed: www.nzherald.co.nz You pressed one of my buttons with that observation Winston. :angry I'm afraid the robber barons and their emulators are in the ascendency in these times and the process of stripping the less wealthy, the innocent, and the vulnerable of their hard earned cash and assets in the guise of "legitimate " profits is becoming more efficient as time passes. Also, New Zealand with our small population, suffers from the lack of real competition in many key industries and services that exists in the countries mentioned. Here it is too easy for the large manufacturers and suppliers to create informal cartels that eliminate the need to increase efficiency and reduce profit margins. "is anyone doing anything about it?" I'm afraid not. The political process is hamstrung because parties can't win elections without the approval and support of big business. One day a Fidel Castro may arise in New Zealand and persuade the people that politics is too serious a business to be allowed to fall into the hands of professional politicians. I hope by that time that the global political scene will have improved......we wouldn't want New Zealand to suffer the fate of Cuba, which is exactly what would happen. |
brig (1359) | ||
| 560818 | 2007-06-20 21:45:00 | Yes why are our house so dear ! Our wages are less, so that should make them cheaper. I think the price of wood in NZ is way too high ! (for a country full of it) I think there is a bit of a monoply/duoploy in building materials. Regards Digby |
Digby (677) | ||
| 560819 | 2007-06-20 21:54:00 | The land cost is also influenced (= hugely increased) by the conveyancing charges of the NZ solicitors?Nah. My brother charges around $800 per conveyancing job. That's a pretty minimal fraction of the cost of buying land or a house. | Greg (193) | ||
| 560820 | 2007-06-20 22:34:00 | Yes why are our house so dear ! Our wages are less, so that should make them cheaper. I think the price of wood in NZ is way too high ! (for a country full of it) I think there is a bit of a monoply/duoploy in building materials. Regards Digby I think you hit the nail on the head there. (intended) :-) The price of timber that is. We also have the odd Taniwha hanging around, RMA and the Council Zoning system. Some councils do not free up land which means prices for land goes up due to supply and demand. Having been to Tauranga & Cambridge over recent months I note sub divisions are popping up like Daffodills in Spring. The "houses" look more like "castles" which prompts me to enquire whether Mother & Father are going back to producing 6 to 12 children as happened somewhat earlier in the history of New Zealand. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 560821 | 2007-06-20 22:50:00 | Building in Oz is cheap if one is after Basic, can be as low as $500 per sq mtr, but this is with everything budget - untreated timber frame, rendered budget bricks or worse Blueboard (Fibrolite), corrogated iron roof, cheap floor tiles carpets, blinds and appliances - Single level homes are built with 90 x 35 framing at 400 centres on load bearing walls and 70 x 35 at 400 centres on partition walls, lined with Gibraltar (Gyproc) board. Concrete work is much cheaper, but brickies and carpenters are paid a lot more here in Australia. I guess one thing Australia has going for it is that there is real competition in the building Materials market, the down market items in such things as hardware are really cheap, but quality products are quite pricey but cheaper than in NZ The minute one starts upgrading framing (to Steel +$6K its but it is termite proof) or to heavier treated timber( Add $5 -$6K), quality facing Bricks, quality joinery, floor tiles, carpets and inclusions, ducted aircon (add $16K) full insulation to ceilings and walls (add $3-$4 K) -the dollars add up quite quickly. Typically one can visit a nice display home of say 240 sq mtrs with a basic price of $130k, but constructed as displayed $195K, but it is very nice, and still represents good value by Kiwi standards - but then add a parcel of land at $250 K plus and the package begins to look expensive, but not by Auckland standards if one is building in one of the better suburbs. |
KenESmith (6287) | ||
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