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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
560802	2007-06-20 02:11:00	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? I should add that I'm involved with Habitat for Humanity which is a charity which builds houses for needy families. We'd love to be able to bring building costs down.	Winston001 (3612)
560803	2007-06-20 02:35:00	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? I should add that I'm involved with Habitat for Humanity which is a charity which builds houses for needy families . We'd love to be able to bring building costs down . Where's your figures on that, as I don't believe they are correct? hace lots of rules, so that adds a lot to the cost . eg . Our houses in NZ must have insulation, and must also comply with earthquake standard, and materials must last a minimum of 25 years etc . Material costs and labour costs in NZ aren't too much different from Oz, they are probably 10% higher . There is a bit of a monopoly on many building products, such as aluminium windows, which Fletcher supplies almost all the window manufactures .	rogerp (6864)
560804	2007-06-20 04:53:00	Labour costs and the soaring price of land. Check out how cheap land is in the USA, not everywhere but mostly its very cheap comparatively. They also have a larger labour pool (Mexicans etc) therefore the labour rates are low not too mention building products are far cheaper there as well. 42 inch Plasma TV for $899 anyone??	beeswax34 (63)
560805	2007-06-20 04:58:00	Don't forget that AUS and the US don't have a RMA systerm that ties buildings up for months and can add $30K to the house price. Oh and blame it on the high dollar. Every one else does..;-)	paulw (1826)
560806	2007-06-20 08:34:00	Builders earn more in Oz and the USA - I've met carpenters who have moved to those countries for that reason. Our wages are still low despite the lack of builders, plumbers etc. Catching up maybe. I don't think resource consents are the problem. Councils fall over themselves to be helpful because they like the idea of more ratepayers. Getting a subdivision approved in the first place is the main hurdle. Certainly our tighter building rules are making it more expensive but it has been more expensive for a long time. I remember seeing packages on the Gold Coast in 1995 for 4 bedroom houses, including land, for A$82,000. At the same time here it was costing about NZ$200,000. I'm thinking that our double wall (cavity wall) construction must double the construction work. In Oz it looks like they can build single brick walls with no extra internal wall, just a direct lining - or just bare bricks. I guess our colder moist climate is a problem. Really I'm interested in what the answer is to building affordable homes and wonder if we've adopted a building style which is out of date and unnecessarily expensive.	Winston001 (3612)
560807	2007-06-20 08:50:00	Look up the Newcastle earthquake to see what Australian brick laying can result in.	PaulD (232)
560808	2007-06-20 09:28:00	Yes, the building standards here require a hell of a lot more construction strength, due to the shaky nature of the country. Overseas 3"x2" framing may suffice, with wider spacing. The amount of timber needed for compliance here is very high. The land cost is also influenced (= hugely increased) by the conveyancing charges of the NZ solicitors?	godfather (25)
560809	2007-06-20 09:34:00	To be fair those charges are nothing compared to the commissions charged by real estate agents.	PaulD (232)
560810	2007-06-20 09:44:00	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.	KenESmith (6287)
560811	2007-06-20 10:52:00	I'm thinking that our double wall (cavity wall) construction must double the construction work. In Oz it looks like they can build single brick walls with no extra internal wall, just a direct lining - or just bare bricks. I guess our colder moist climate is a problem. 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.	rogerp (6864)
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