The Average Cost of New Construction in 2024

New homes are increasingly in demand. In fact, they're very popular with young professionals looking for a modern and comfortable living space. Gone are the days of people purchasing to restore and remodel; the trend’s now set toward new construction. And it's understandable!

Building a new house doesn’t cost more than purchasing an existing structure. It’s actually a really good long-term investment, both economically and environmentally.

With the development of programs like the Guarantee Plan for New Residential Buildings, Quebec is now more than ever boosting the number of new residential buildings on its territory. Therefore, it must be stated: Our population is growing at full speed and the construction of new residential buildings are at an all-time high to meet demands.

House Building: Land-Related Costs

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The benefits of newly built houses are undeniable: location selection, layout design, modern fixtures, and eco-friendly materials. On top of ensuring the well-being of the dwellers, newly built residential buildings have the advantage of being well-insulated. It’s the ideal way to save heating and air conditioning costs, without having to compromise your comfort in any way. 

If you’re convinced that a newly built house is just what you need, first off, you’ll definitely need to look over the associated costs for this type of large-scale project. 

Cost of Land and Earthworks

Shopping around for land to build on is definitely a lot more complex than just looking to purchase an existing structure. One question that must be on your mind is: How do you go about gauging free land? There are a few points to consider.

Note that, first and foremost, purchasing land is directly linked to location, especially since your future home’s geographical location needs to meet your current and future needs. If you don’t have kids yet but are planning on maybe one day taking the leap, it’s best to choose a site that isn’t too far from schools and daycares. 

Obviously, the price of land largely depends on geolocation and plot size. As a general rule, the price of land will amount to 25-30% of your home project budget. Therefore, if you plan on building a home worth $400,000, the land will cost between $100,000 and $120,000. On that matter, note that the services of a land surveyor are roughly $2,000. 

Undeniably, rare are those among us who don’t wish to benefit from having a nice yard, one we can fully enjoy during the summer with close friends. Keep in mind that you’ll need to slap down about 10% of the property’s total value if you call in the services of a professional to complete all earthwork. 

Expect the Following Expenses

The land budget doesn’t just stop at that, other expenses need to be factored in, hence the importance of gathering as much information on the matter as possible. Moreover, it’s always best to ask straight off the bat whether the desired land is serviceable or not. As a matter of fact, if the land is developable but not serviceable, your newly-built house won’t have the necessary connections/wirings to fuel a residential structure.

The work required to wire a house is performed by a general contractor, who’ll be commissioned and supervised by the supplier. Note that all fees are charged to the landowner (which means you!). Account for roughly between $2500 and $4000 for waterworks and sewer networks connections and $300 for electrical wiring, which doesn’t include gas, phone, and fibre connections. Truth be told, the price for this type of work varies between $2,000 and $10,000. 

After having purchased the land, we recommend doing a soil survey and validating the quality of the water. Even if optional, this step is highly recommended and allows one to examine the soil over several layers deep. Expect to pay between $900 to $3,000 for a geotechnical survey; the cost varies depending on the dimensions of the land.

The soil’s nature and properties will most definitely impact the cost of building your new house because, for example, clayey soil will require deeper foundations than normal, which tends to increase the overall bill. This preliminary study serves as a tool to determine the presence of clay, embankments, underground cavities, phreatic zone, and whether the land is contaminated or not.

Over and above, the survey provides the contractor with recommendations as to how best to adapt the structure based on the nature of the land. This’ll avoid risks of cracks, floods, and other inconveniences that’ll without a doubt shorten the life span of the structure. 

Cost of a Well and Septic Tank Installation

Note that if the future residential building isn’t fueled by an aqueduct, then obtaining a compliance report by a construction technologist is an absolute must. This report will be essential when requesting a water well and septic tank installation permit. So, how much do these systems cost? 

For a water well, expect to pay roughly between $3,500 and $50,000 but for a septic tank, bear in mind that the required budget varies greatly: between $10,000 and $60,000.

For more information regarding what should be factored in, and anything else regarding this subject matter, check out our article: A Short Guide to Septic Tanks: Price, Maintenance, and Operation. 

New Construction: Cost of Expert Services

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Cost of an Architect or Construction Technologist

After having determined the nature and property of the soil on which the structure will be erected, now comes the time to commission an architect to draw up the house plans. The architect in question will have to be attentive and attuned to your needs to plan a home adapted specifically for you. The architect will actually be in on the journey with you from beginning to end, and they’ll also be able to support your choice of a general contractor, especially if you wish to incorporate particular elements in your home. (This is highly likely in the case of an eco-friendly home.)

For new constructions, architect fees are as high as 5% to 15% of the cost of the construction. This fee covers drafting the plans, preliminary design, detailed design, bidding process coordination, and construction site supervision.

For a $400,000 house, the architect's fees will then be between $20,000 and $60,000. However, there are a number of other factors to consider which could also increase costs, notably the scale of the construction project and the number of details and the overall complexity requested by the client. Thinking of dealing with a construction technologist instead? If so, expect to shell out between $1,500 and $3,000 for their services. 

Nonetheless, it’s no secret that requesting the services of an architect or construction technologist when building a new home is best. Moreso, in order to obtain building permits, you need to provide a file containing the architect’s plans and other elements such as the property site plan issued by a land surveyor, a notarized deed of the land, and the various connection/wiring permits.

How much does it cost to have your home built by a contractor?

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Building a new home is a rather complex process, one that requires many steps before arriving at the final result. One must account for the cost of labour, material transportation, and the different labour forces who’ll be involved in the project (engineer, plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc.), including any unpredicted issues that could complicate things on-site and increase the price that you’ll have to pay for a turnkey house. 

The reality is, the overall cost will largely depend on the choices you’ll have made over the course of the construction of your home. The choice of flooring, heating and air conditioning systems, the insulation materials used, doors and windows are just as much a contributing factor as their prices vary, mostly depending on their performance and quality. 

To build a new house, you’ll need to consider the quality of materials used. As a matter of fact, these will considerably affect the total cost of this type of large-scale project. So, here’s an overview of the cost, per square footage, of purchasing a house:

• Entry-level home: Between $100 and $200 per square foot

• Mid-range home: Between $200 and $300 per square foot

• High-end home: Between $300 and $400 per square foot

To that, one can add the cost of land, excavation, sanitary fittings, as well as landscaping.

Other Expenses to Keep in Mind

Besides the previously mentioned fees, note that there are other expenses to keep in mind when you’re putting together your new house construction budget:

• Notary fees: between $1,200 and $1,600;

• Welcome tax/transfers of immovables: between $2,000 and $3,000 for a house with an estimated value of $240,000;

• Construction permit: varies, but it’s usually around $500 + a construction deposit;

• GST and HST on goods and services.