It is important for our clients to understand why here at Fairhaven, we include our site costs when possible. We know how important site costs are, playing a vital role in the budget of your new home. Below we break down the types of quoting we provide for construction site costs and how they work.

Firstly, what are site costs and what do they include?

Site Costs are fees involved in preparing your site for construction, as well as determining the footings and slab required to support the structural integrity of your dwelling.

Jacqui our Workflow Team leader recaps our offerings here at Fairhaven for types of site costs and how they work.

Fixed Site Costs: With the information available to us at the time of Sale, we are able to calculate your site costs based on Estate Engineering and are comfortable to provide fixed site costs for all required earthworks. This provides peace of mind and allows clients to attend their MyHAVEN Studio Selection Appointment with clear overall budget, as they already know their site costs. We call this a Fixed job.

Quoted Site Costs: Order site costs are unable to be calculated until time of tender, generally after land settlement. We can only calculate site costs for an Order file when land is titled, Soil and Survey is received and all Council/Water Authority Property Information is available to us. We require full engineering to calculate these site costs and as such, we cannot provide Contracts on untitled Order files. Costs are calculated based on actual site conditions, not preliminary estate engineering. We call this an Order job.

We hear from Brent Alford our South East Sales Manager on what this means for our clients.

When choosing to build a new home, site costs can be daunting. What perception do you find clients have early on when speaking with one of our New Home Consultants?

Clients building for the first time are usually unaware of what site costs mean or the costs involved, which is where our New Home Consultants can educate our clients and explain how it works in a simplified way to the technical terms. At Fairhaven we include up to a H1 Slab as a standard inclusion, this ensures our clients receive affordable site costs and importantly a high quality slab to support their future home.

Notably most builders offer fixed site costs or quoted site costs, at Fairhaven we can include them. What does this mean for clients from a quoting perspective?

The process of understanding clearly early on what is included means Sales can continue to be transparent when quoting the home and you can budget easier.
Our current Site Costs Included promotion can save clients a lot of money, at the higher end of four figures for up to a H1 slab alone compared to other builders. That’s a lot of money saved for our clients and less stress having to worry about how much of their budget will go towards the site costs.

Included is up to a H1 slab design and up to 600mm of fall. It is estimated that this can save our clients huge amounts of money. What benefits does included site costs provide our clients?

Most clients are not aware of the additional site cost that can apply to building a new home, so the current offer can save clients a lot of money. It gives them peace of mind with the site costs and yes, it is 100% fixed and will not change throughout the process.  It is in our best interest to be as transparent as possible, which is why we want there to be less stress on often unknowns for you. Our site costs team consists of professional estimators and engineers that assess each block of land, who then design the most suitable and highest quality slab to suit at the best price, which is a win win for all of Fairhaven’s clients.
The reduced cost in site costs means more money can be put towards other important upgrades for their dream home, some that you can look at everyday!

Visit our Luxury Built-In page to see our extensive list of already included luxury items.

So why do we included up to a H1 slab included instead of an M class slab?

Many other builders include an M class slab design, which in simpler terms is only suitable for a small amount of ground movement in wet and dry conditions, and we all know what Melbourne weather is like. In Victoria, most Greenfield estates require greater than an M class slab, which often means you have additional site costs before even receiving their quote. We want to eliminate that where we can.

M Class – Moderately Reactive
H Class – Highly reactive

Logistically this doesn’t seem like much. In technical terms?

Is there any other costs that may arise even with Included Site Costs?

Water Connection: Once tapping/meter is installed for the first time, you are are likely to receive a bill from your Water Authority for the initial connection fee. This is a one off cost, at times greater than $100.

Electricity Connection Fees: Each distributer is different, however an Electricity Connection Fee can range between $400 – $1000 for the initial electricity connection of the dwelling to the electrical pit.

Still have questions or concerns? That’s okay there is a lot to understand! One of our New Home Consultants would be happy to answer any you may have.

Pricing figures approximate at time of posting. Site Costs Included promotion for a limited time only, ending June 2023.