INSIGHT · COST & QUOTING
Building a new house cost about $1,967 per m² in 2024-25.
In South Australia, $1,788.
From ABS figures, a new house cost about $1,967 per square metre to build in Australia in 2024-25: the ABS average cost of new houses, $474,939, divided by their average floor area, 241.5 square metres (our calculation). By state it ran from about $1,585 in WA and $1,788 in South Australia to $2,396 in NSW and $2,538 in Tasmania. The ABS cost is the value of a private sector house at completion as reported in its Building Activity survey, excluding land and landscaping.
Analysed 25 October 2026 · ABS Building Activity, Australia, December 2025, released 8 April 2026, annual data cubes 'Average Cost' and 'Average Floor Area' (financial years 2010-11 to 2024-25) · ABS Building Activity methodology, June 2026 · ABS article 'Characteristics of new residential dwellings - A 15 year summary', released 15 April 2020, for the method · ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026, released 30 September 2026, and the ABS Data API · all pages and files read 25 October 2026.
Key takeaways
- About $1,967 per square metre in 2024-25: Australia, new houses: ABS average cost $474,939 and average floor area 241.5 square metres, both published annually in Building Activity; the per square metre figure is our calculation. In 2023-24 the same division gives about $1,843.
- From about $1,585 in WA to $2,538 in Tasmania: Our calculation for 2024-25. Tasmania's houses are also the smallest, 165.8 square metres on average; WA's are among the largest, 256.8 square metres.
- South Australia: $1,120 to $1,788 since 2010-11: Our calculation, up 59.6% while SA's average new house grew from 196.3 to 218.1 square metres. Nationally the figure rose 75.7%, from about $1,119, with floor area almost unchanged (240.0 to 241.5 square metres).
- The ABS measure is completed private sector houses: The ABS describes the cost as the total value of the dwelling at completion, reported by the survey respondent at the final stage of construction, excluding land purchase and landscaping. Only private sector dwellings are included.
- Approvals give a second, different number: Building Approvals gives an average approved value of a new house of about $517,000 for 2025-26 (our calculation). It is an estimate at approval, for all sectors, not a completed cost, and it carries no floor area.
- We would store the measure with its basis: A system-design recommendation: a benchmark rate in a quote or feasibility names the ABS cube or table, the year, the dwelling type and whether it is a completed cost or an approved value, never a bare dollar figure.
Cost per square metre of a new house, by state
The ABS publishes the two inputs; the division is ours, so every $/m² column is our calculation. Both cubes cover new houses by state for each financial year from 2010-11 to 2024-25.
Source: ABS Building Activity, Australia, December 2025, released 8 April 2026, 'Building Activity Average Cost' and 'Building Activity Average Floor Area', Table 1, new houses. Per square metre is the published average cost divided by the published average floor area, rounded to the nearest dollar. That is a ratio of two averages, not an average of each house's own rate, and the floor-area average excludes records with no floor area stated, so the two averages may not cover exactly the same houses.
| State | Average cost 2024-25 | Floor area 2024-25 | $ per sq m, 2024-25 | $ per sq m, 2023-24 | $ per sq m, 2010-11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $565,749 | 236.1 m² | $2,396 | $2,221 | $1,203 |
| Victoria | $485,292 | 253.5 m² | $1,914 | $1,758 | $1,033 |
| Queensland | $458,868 | 230.9 m² | $1,987 | $1,839 | $1,140 |
| South Australia | $389,949 | 218.1 m² | $1,788 | $1,629 | $1,120 |
| Western Australia | $407,114 | 256.8 m² | $1,585 | $1,584 | $1,142 |
| Tasmania | $420,756 | 165.8 m² | $2,538 | $2,368 | $1,204 |
| Northern Territory | $475,310 | 206.5 m² | $2,302 | $2,087 | $1,483 |
| ACT | $645,052 | 298.2 m² | $2,163 | $1,991 | $1,400 |
| Australia | $474,939 | 241.5 m² | $1,967 | $1,843 | $1,119 |
Townhouses, the same way
The same cubes publish townhouses by state. For 2024-25 the division gives about $2,494 per square metre nationally (our calculation), higher than for houses on a smaller average floor area of 174.48 square metres.
Source as above, Table 2, new townhouses. The ABS defines townhouses as semi-detached, row or terrace houses with their own private grounds and no dwelling above or below. Smaller states build few townhouses and their figures move sharply between years: Tasmania's figure was about $3,065 in 2023-24 and NT's about $2,003 (our calculation). Apartments are published for NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Australia only, and the ABS notes an upward bias in their size and cost.
| State | ABS average cost, 2024-25 | ABS average floor area, 2024-25 | $ per sq m, 2024-25 (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $455,045 | 165.75 m² | $2,745 |
| Victoria | $468,298 | 182.4 m² | $2,567 |
| Queensland | $375,361 | 167.8 m² | $2,237 |
| South Australia | $349,273 | 174.94 m² | $1,997 |
| Western Australia | $306,548 | 184.94 m² | $1,658 |
| Tasmania | $346,607 | 136.99 m² | $2,530 |
| Northern Territory | $502,271 | 163.52 m² | $3,072 |
| ACT | $455,595 | 179.6 m² | $2,537 |
| Australia | $435,089 | 174.48 m² | $2,494 |
What the ABS cost and floor area cover
The two cubes carry no explanatory notes of their own. The method below is the ABS's description in its April 2020 article on the same series, read with the current Building Activity methodology. That article's national house floor areas match the current cube for every year from 2010-11 to 2018-19 except 2016-17.
The ABS states the cubes are updated annually with the December quarter release. Later releases can revise earlier years: the 2020 article gives NSW's 2016-17 house floor area as 230.6 square metres, the current cube 237.6.
- Cost: the value at completion: 'The total value of the dwelling at its completion, as reported by the respondent at the final stage of construction', including materials, labour, engineering, architectural services and in-built fixtures and fittings. Land purchase and landscaping are excluded.
- Floor area: to the outside of the external walls: Useable space including attachments, measured to the external perimeter of the exterior walls, excluding non-enclosed structures such as verandahs and carports.
- Population: private sector, surveyed: Only private sector dwellings are included. The source is the Building Activity Survey, a sample of 25,000 to 30,000 jobs a quarter selected from building approvals, with modelled low-value jobs and imputation for non-response.
- Exclusions: Dwellings under $50,000 are excluded from average cost. Records with no floor area stated, between 9% and 25% of residential dwellings a year from 2004-05 to 2018-19 (ABS 2020 article), are excluded, as are houses stated under 25 or over 1,800 square metres.
- GST: not stated in the cubes: The cubes do not say. The Building Activity methodology states residential value data are published on a GST inclusive basis. The ABS producer price indexes, by contrast, exclude GST, as /insights/construction-input-costs-vs-house-prices-australia sets out.
A second measure:
the average approved value
Building Approvals publishes the number and value of new houses approved each month, for all sectors. Dividing value by number gives an average approved value per new house. It is a different measure from the completed cost above: it is an estimate made at approval, it counts houses in the month they are approved rather than completed, and it carries no floor area.
Source: ABS Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026, released 30 September 2026, series 'New ; Houses', original, all sectors; averages rounded to the nearest $1,000. The ABS states approval values are the estimated value of building work when completed as reported on approval documents, conceptually excluding land, demolition and landscaping, and including GST. Building Approvals also gives capital cities: for Greater Adelaide, 7,789 new houses averaged about $445,000 in 2025-26 (our calculation from the ABS Data API). The Building Activity cubes have no capital-city split.
| State (Building Approvals table) | Average approved value, 2025-26 (our calc.) | Average approved value, 2024-25 (our calc.) | ABS average completed cost, 2024-25 (Building Activity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW (Table 22) | $565,000 | $541,000 | $565,749 |
| Victoria (Table 23) | $531,000 | $512,000 | $485,292 |
| Queensland (Table 24) | $527,000 | $502,000 | $458,868 |
| South Australia (Table 25) | $437,000 | $406,000 | $389,949 |
| Western Australia (Table 26) | $474,000 | $443,000 | $407,114 |
| Tasmania (Table 27) | $430,000 | $424,000 | $420,756 |
| Northern Territory (Table 28) | $541,000 | $576,000 | $475,310 |
| ACT (Table 29) | $507,000 | $454,000 | $645,052 |
| Australia (Tables 20, 21) | $517,000 | $492,000 | $474,939 |
Why per square metre figures
disagree with each other.
A per square metre figure is a value divided by an area, and both halves have a scope. The ABS's completed cost excludes land and landscaping and covers private sector houses at completion. Its approval values are estimates made before construction, which for project homes are usually the contract price and may include site preparation and landscaping, and for owner's-plans work may be the builder's costs only. Floor area is measured to the outside of the external walls, without verandahs or carports.
A builder's quoted rate may count a different floor area, such as including an alfresco or garage, may exclude GST, and may exclude site costs that the ABS includes.
What we would put in a system
For any cost benchmark held against a quote or a feasibility, we would test for four fields.
Where agents help here is narrow. A quoting agent can pull the latest ABS cubes, recompute the rate for the stated state, year and dwelling type, and draft the benchmark line with its basis, and a person confirms it. No agent decides what a job should cost or what a client should be charged.
| Field | Why it is load-bearing |
|---|---|
| Publisher, cube or table, and year | Building Activity's 2024-25 completed cost and Building Approvals' 2025-26 approved value are different populations with different averages. |
| Measure and what it includes | Completed cost excluding land and landscaping, private sector, GST inclusive per the Building Activity methodology (inferred); or approved value including GST, all sectors. |
| Floor area basis | To the external walls, without verandahs and carports, in the ABS measure; a builder's own rate needs its basis stated the same way. |
| Release used | The annual cubes and the monthly approvals tables both revise earlier periods. |
- Quoting: Holds each quote line with the scope, source and date behind its rate.
- Quoting agent: Drafts a benchmark line from a named ABS series; a person confirms.
- Input costs against house prices: Three ABS price indexes for house construction, and what each measures.
- South Australian dwelling approvals: The monthly ABS count for South Australia, by series type.
Questions worth asking
of your own cost records
For a builder quoting in South Australia: is your rate per square metre measured on the same floor area as the ABS's?
The ABS measures floor area to the external perimeter of exterior walls, excluding verandahs and carports. A rate that counts an alfresco or garage is a different number from the $1,788 per square metre of 2024-25 (our calculation). General information as read on 25 October 2026, not financial advice.
For a developer running a feasibility: does the benchmark say whether land, landscaping and GST are in?
The ABS completed cost excludes land and landscaping; the cubes do not state GST, while the Building Activity methodology publishes residential values GST inclusive. A feasibility line ex GST is not comparable until restated. General information as read on 25 October 2026, not financial advice.
For a building group: which ABS release does each stored benchmark come from?
The annual cubes are updated with each December quarter release and earlier years can be revised. A benchmark stored without its release cannot be reproduced later. General information as read on 25 October 2026, not financial advice.
Questions people ask
about building cost per square metre
What is the building cost per square metre in Adelaide and South Australia?
The ABS publishes South Australia, not Adelaide, in these cubes. In 2024-25 the ABS average cost of a new house in SA was $389,949 and its average floor area 218.1 square metres, about $1,788 per square metre (our calculation, Building Activity, released 8 April 2026). It is the completed value of private sector houses, excluding land and landscaping.
What is the average building cost per square metre in Australia?
About $1,967 per square metre for new houses in 2024-25: ABS average cost $474,939 divided by average floor area 241.5 square metres (our calculation). For townhouses the same division gives about $2,494. Both exclude land and landscaping.
What is the building cost per square metre in Melbourne or Victoria?
The ABS cubes give Victoria, not Melbourne: in 2024-25 a new house averaged $485,292 for 253.5 square metres, about $1,914 per square metre (our calculation, ABS Building Activity, private sector houses at completion).
What is the building cost per square metre in Queensland and Perth?
For 2024-25, Queensland about $1,987 per square metre ($458,868 for 230.9 square metres) and Western Australia about $1,585 ($407,114 for 256.8 square metres), our calculation from ABS Building Activity. The cubes have no capital-city split.
What is the average cost to build a house in South Australia?
The ABS average cost of a new house in SA was $389,949 in 2024-25 (Building Activity, completed private sector houses, excluding land, GST inclusive per the methodology, inferred). The average approved value from Building Approvals, a different measure, was about $437,000 in 2025-26 (our calculation, all sectors, including GST).
What this analysis
does and does not show.
Evidence note
- What it shows
- Cost per square metre of new houses and townhouses by state for 2024-25, 2023-24 and 2010-11, as our calculation from the ABS Building Activity average cost and average floor area cubes released 8 April 2026, and, separately, the average approved value of a new house from ABS Building Approvals, August 2026, all read 25 October 2026.
- Key facts quoted
- Australia 2024-25: average cost $474,939, floor area 241.5 square metres, about $1,967 per square metre; South Australia $389,949, 218.1 square metres, about $1,788; 2010-11 Australia about $1,119 and SA about $1,120 (per square metre figures our calculation). Approvals: average approved value about $517,000 for 2025-26 (our calculation).
- Per square metre is a ratio of two published averages; the ABS publishes no per square metre figure, and the floor-area average excludes records with no floor area stated.
- The cubes carry no notes. Their population and cost definition are taken from the ABS's April 2020 article on the same series; GST treatment is inferred from the Building Activity methodology, not stated in the cubes.
- Private sector dwellings only, by state; no capital-city split. Small states and townhouse figures move sharply between years.
- Later releases revise earlier years and months; figures are as published on 25 October 2026.
- Approved values and completed costs measure different things and are not reconciled.
- General information about published statistics. It is not financial advice and not an estimate of what any building will cost.
What to watch next
The ABS lists Building Activity, Australia, December 2026 for 7 April 2027, the quarter with which it updates the average cost and floor area cubes, and Building Approvals, Australia, September 2026 for 2 November 2026.
- 2 November 2026: Building Approvals, Australia, September 2026 (ABS release calendar on the August 2026 release page).
- 7 April 2027: Building Activity, Australia, December 2026 (ABS release calendar on the June 2026 release page); the ABS states the average cost and floor area cubes are updated annually with the December quarter.
Bring us one quote and the rate behind it.
Send us a recent house quote and the per square metre rate it was built from. We will show you which ABS measure it can be compared with, and which scope fields your records would need to make the comparison hold.
General information about published ABS statistics, as read on 25 October 2026. Not financial advice, and not an estimate of the cost of any building. Covers Australia and each state and territory as published by the ABS.
Sources
Suggested citation: ABS, Building Activity, Australia, December 2025 (released 8 April 2026), Average Cost and Average Floor Area cubes, and ABS, Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026 (released 30 September 2026), read 25 October 2026. Derived figures: cost per square metre, changes between years and average approved values are our calculation, reproduced by compute.py in the source folder.
- ABS - Building Activity, Australia, December 2025: Released 8 April 2026, with the Average Cost and Average Floor Area cubes · read 25 October 2026 · Official statistics release
- ABS - Building Activity Average Cost and Average Floor Area cubes: Released 8 April 2026, financial years 2010-11 to 2024-25 · read 25 October 2026, downloaded as XLSX · Official statistics data cubes
- ABS - Characteristics of new residential dwellings - A 15 year summary: Released 15 April 2020 · read 25 October 2026 for its Method section · Official feature article
- ABS - Building Activity, Australia methodology, June 2026: Released 7 October 2026 · read 25 October 2026 · Official methodology
- ABS - Building Approvals, Australia, August 2026, Tables 20 to 29: Released 30 September 2026 · read 25 October 2026, downloaded as XLSX · Official statistics release
- ABS - Building Approvals, Australia methodology, August 2026: Released 30 September 2026 · read 25 October 2026 · Official methodology
- ABS Data API - Building Approvals by Greater Capital City Statistical Area: Data to August 2026 · read 25 October 2026 · Official statistics, machine-readable
- ABS - Building Activity, Australia, June 2026: Released 7 October 2026 · read 25 October 2026 for the release calendar · Official statistics release