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Building a new house is a daunting experience.

You want your new home to be as affordable as possible, and you don’t want to get ripped off by any dishonest builders or tradies who think they can get away with overcharging.

So when you are at the quoting and pricing stage of your project, make sure you don’t move too quickly. It’s when a free quote is being thrown around out there and offered to you that you need to be cautious. In most cases, free almost always ends up costing you more.

Choose a professional builder, such as HIA builders or Master Builders, so you don’t get ripped off, they will offer a written contract that clearly describes the work, materials to be used, timelines, price, responsibilities of both parties and other details as appropriate.

A “cost per square metre rate” is a method of expressing building costs that should be used with extreme caution by both clients and contractors involved in the cost comparison and cost planning process.

Make sure you dig into the details to see exactly what you’re getting. For instance, one builder might charge you $1,000 per square metre while another’s price might be $1,700 a square metre.

Does that mean the second builder is ripping you off?

Not until you look into the details.

Truth is you may not be comparing apples with apples.

The bottom line:

Don’t fall into the trap of comparing house prices via square metre rates. Quite frankly, there are too many variables – and you may end up with an orange when you really wanted an apple.