Turnkey small homes in New Zealand price at $2,950 to $4,350 per square metre depending on spec, with site factors adding up to 18%. In plan terms: a 48 m² build starts around $133,000, a 60 m² around $166,000, and the full 70 m² consent-exempt ceiling from $194,000, signed design included. Building with your own builder instead? The plan set alone is $4,900 to $6,900, adapted to your address.
Slide the size, pick a finish, tell us about the site. A ballpark in seconds, a real number once we see your address.
A ballpark for budgeting, not a quote. Your address sets the real number. Includes design, delivery and foundations; excludes land.
Two choices and one fact about your land decide the number: how big, how finished, and how hard the site works the crew.
| SPEC TIER | RATE PER M² | WHAT IT BUYS |
|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $2,950 | Sound, warm, simple. Standard cladding and joinery. |
| Classic | $3,550 | The most-built spec. Timber accents, better wet areas. |
| Premium | $4,350 | Cedar, tile, full-height glazing. The magazine one. |
| SITE TYPE | FACTOR | WHAT IT MEANS |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | ×1.00 | Level section, clear access, services within easy reach. |
| Sloped | +9% | Extra foundation and retaining work on a gentle fall. |
| Tricky | +18% | Steep ground, tight access or difficult soils: priced honestly, or declined honestly. |
Quoted ranges sit roughly −6% to +8% around the computed midpoint; the same arithmetic drives the calculator above and our fixed quotes.
Every Seventy is one of three proven footprints, so the honest way to show cost is simply to price all of them at every spec.
| FOOTPRINT | ESSENTIALS | CLASSIC | PREMIUM | WEEKS ON SITE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fern 48 · 48 m² | $133,000–$153,000 | $160,000–$184,000 | $196,000–$226,000 | 10–12 wks |
| Kōwhai 60 · 60 m² | $166,000–$191,000 | $200,000–$230,000 | $245,000–$282,000 | 11–13 wks |
| Rātā 70 · 70 m² | $194,000–$223,000 | $234,000–$268,000 | $286,000–$329,000 | 12–14 wks |
Turnkey ranges for a simple site, NZD including GST, signed design included. Sloped adds ~9%, tricky ~18%. Plan sets bought alone (to build with any builder): Fern 48 $4,900 · Kōwhai 60 $5,900 · Rātā 70 $6,900.
A 70 m² consent-exempt build is one of four ways to add living space. The other three exist for good reasons, but the numbers rarely favour them.
| ROUTE | UP-FRONT COST | CONSENT | TIMELINE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seventy build · ≤70 m² | $133,000–$194,000+ turnkey | Exempt: paperwork arrives with the set | ~5 days to signed plans · 9–13 weeks on site |
| Consented minor dwelling | Similar build cost, plus consent and processing fees | Full building consent lodged and processed | Add months of council processing before work starts |
| 30 m² sleepout | Cheaper shell, but no plumbing under that exemption | Exempt below 30 m² without kitchen or bathroom | Fast, but it's a room, not a home |
| Buying an existing unit | Land plus dwelling at market price | n/a | Subject to the market, and the land isn't yours already |
The consent-exempt route requires design and build by licensed professionals, which every Seventy set and crew provides. District plan rules still apply on any route. Check your council's page before you plan.
The deeper cost story is the one the invoice never shows: a consent queue is weeks of holding cost and winter slipping past. Since January 2026 the ≤70 m² exemption removes that line entirely: here’s the rule in plain English, and here’s what your council still checks.
Turnkey rates run $2,950 per m² for the Essentials spec, $3,550 for Classic and $4,350 for Premium, with a quoted range of roughly −6% to +8% around the midpoint once your site is confirmed. Sloped sections add about 9% and genuinely tricky sites about 18%. The calculator applies the same factors our quotes do.
Bare section to keys on one fixed quote: the signed design, foundations, the full build, and the site works scoped in your address check (land excluded). Long service runs, difficult access or slope work are priced up front from the feasibility pass rather than appearing mid-build. Building with your own builder instead? The plan set alone is $4,900 to $6,900 by footprint.
The build itself prices much the same nationwide: the rates above hold from Whangārei to Invercargill. What moves the total is the site, not the postcode: slope, ground, access and service runs. Remote regions can add freight lead time, which affects the schedule more than the price.
Gentle slopes carry roughly a 9% factor for the additional foundation and retaining work, and steep or tight sites around 18%. Genuinely difficult sections get an honest no at the free site check instead of an optimistic quote. That check happens before any money moves.
Yes. Every figure Seventy publishes (plan sets, add-ons and turnkey ranges) is in NZ dollars including GST at 15%. The order confirmation doubles as a tax invoice showing the GST portion.
Nine to thirteen weeks on site for most sections: a Fern 48 sits at the fast end, a Rātā 70 at the top, and sloped or tricky sites add a week or two. The address adaptation and plan signing happen before that clock starts, usually within five working days.
Free site check first. The quote reflects your real section, not a national average.