"How much should I invest?" We all want to make sure that we are not over capitalizing on our house and land spending. It's important to consider the total value of our property in order to meet the market.

Here are some rules of thumb that we use:

Tip #1 FLAT SITES Flat sites offer an efficient and easy build option for most builders. What is a flat site? A flat site is one that has less than 1.5 metres fall from one boundary to another boundary.

Spend at least as much on your building as you have on buying the land.

• If your land cost you $250,000, then you can spend at least $250,000 on the building.
• The maximum you should spend would be double the value of your land.
• A $250,000 land cost may support at most a $500,000 spend on the building. The exception would be unusual sites, such as waterfront land or acreage that could support a much higher build cost.

Tip #2 SLOPING SITES Sloping sites are quite a different category to flat sites.

• A sloping site is one that has more than a 1.5m fall or slope.
• In general, to build on a sloping site will cost about 25% more than building a similar size home on a flat site.

Why is this?

A sloping site requires additional foundations to cater for the slope of the ground. A large part of the additional 25% building cost is buried in the ground in the form of retaining walls and footings. There is also a need for extensive scaffolding to give the builders safe access for construction. Scaffolding alone could cost in the order of $20,000 for a build project. You may have bought that sloping site at a good price, but bear in mind the additional build costs required.

So, how much should I spend?

Spend at least as much as your site cost (as for flat sites), and add an additional 25% to get the same size house as on a flat site.

• If your land cost you $250,000, then you can spend at least $300,000 on the build cost.
• The maximum you should spend depends on the site. The site may have magnificent views, but very difficult access. This could increase the build cost by more than 50%. Provided the building takes advantage of the views, then the total value of the property could sustain the additional cost to build.

Paul Hindes, Soul Space Building Designer.

Paul has over 30 years of commercial experience in architecture. His experience ranges from high-rise apartment blocks, commercial and institutional buildings, townhouse developments to individual custom designed homes. Paul uses his wide experience to provide clients with information on project viability. He is current president of the Sunshine Coast chapter of the Building Designers Association. He has also lectured in CAD and 3D modelling to architecture students

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