Owner builder cost calculator, Australia
An indicative range for building a house in any Australian capital, from published construction cost data. Free, no sign-up.
The rates are what the work costs, whoever manages it. Owner building removes part of a builder’s margin but not all of it, and not the work — so treat this as the cost of the build, then read what it costs to owner build for where the money actually goes.
This is a planning range, not a quote or advice. It prices a typical house of the description you give, not your house. Your site, soil class, access, slope and finishes will move it. Always get written quotes from licensed trades before committing to any spend.
Fill in the form and you'll get a build cost range.
What houses cost to build in Australia
A house in an Australian capital runs roughly $1,900 to $5,000 per square metre, including GST and excluding land. The spread is that wide because the standard of finish moves the number more than anything else — more than your city, and more than whether you build in brick or frame.
| Floor area | Medium standard | Across all finishes |
|---|---|---|
| 120 m² | $228,000 – $439,000 | $228,000 – $602,000 |
| 150 m² | $285,000 – $549,000 | $285,000 – $752,000 |
| 200 m² | $380,000 – $732,000 | $380,000 – $1,003,000 |
| 250 m² | $474,000 – $914,000 | $474,000 – $1,254,000 |
Indicative totals, GST inclusive, land excluded. Ranges span every city and construction type — use the calculator above to narrow them to yours.
How much does the city change it?
Less than people expect. For the same house — brick veneer, medium standard — the spread across the capitals is about 40%, and most of that sits between Adelaide at the bottom and Sydney at the top.
| City | Per m², incl. GST |
|---|---|
| Adelaide | $2,330 – $2,510 |
| Melbourne | $2,805 – $3,025 |
| Brisbane | $2,815 – $3,035 |
| Hobart | $2,920 – $3,145 |
| Perth | $3,085 – $3,330 |
| Sydney | $3,250 – $3,505 |
What these figures do not include
They cover the building work. Several of the things that most often blow an owner builder's budget sit outside them:
- Land, stamp duty, subdivision and council headworks charges
- Site conditions — slope, rock, a reactive soil class, poor access, demolition, retaining walls
- Service connections to the street, and temporary power and water during the build
- Holding costs — loan interest and rent while you build, which run for as long as the job does
- Landscaping, driveways and fencing, which are easy to defer and easy to underestimate
A cost per square metre also assumes a fairly ordinary shape. Long thin plans, lots of corners, high ceilings and big glazed spans all cost more per square metre than the same area drawn simply.
Common questions
- How much does it cost to build a house in Australia?
- It depends far more on your floor area, standard of finish and construction type than on anything else, which is why a single national average is not much use. This calculator gives an indicative range for your city and specification, including GST and excluding land. Your own site — slope, soil class, access, demolition — moves the number again, and only your actual plans can answer that.
- Does this calculator include the cost of land?
- No. It covers the building work only. Land, stamp duty, subdivision and any council headworks or infrastructure charges sit outside it, as do loan costs and the holding costs of owning the site while you build.
- Do bedrooms and bathrooms change the price?
- Not directly. A whole-house cost per square metre already includes a normal number of bedrooms and bathrooms, so what moves the total is the floor area rather than how it is divided up. We use bedroom and bathroom counts only to estimate your floor area when you do not know it. If you know your actual area, enter it — it is the single most important input on the form.
- Is this an estimate or a quote?
- Neither, strictly. It is an indicative planning range built from published Australian construction cost data for a typical house of that description. It is not a quote, it is not advice, and it cannot account for your site. Always get written quotes from licensed trades before committing to spend.
Related reading
- What does it cost to owner build in Australia? — where the money goes across a build, and why no reliable national average exists.
- The stages of building a house — the order the work happens in, and which trades come back more than once.