In this video, presenter Jackson Digney explains how prospective custom‑home owners can avoid costly surprises by securing an accurate, honest price from the outset. He outlines why price accuracy matters, especially on high‑value projects, and details common pricing pitfalls: omitted footings and finishes, excluded energy‑efficiency components, scheduling‑related cost blowouts, and workmanship re‑work. Digney describes Enduro Builders’ approach to mitigating these risks—using a detailed, day‑by‑day project‑management platform, trusted trades, and on‑site supervision—to produce fully itemised quotes. He advises buyers to request fully detailed quotes and recent completed‑project examples with full contract prices, and offers a free consultation to review costs and alternatives, ensuring clients can plan their dream home without unexpected thousands added later.
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How to get an accurate, honest custom house price so you can plan the custom home you want without suddenly being surprised by thousands in added costs. Price isn't everything, but it is something, especially when a large amount of money is involved. When building a custom home, the last thing you want is to waste time planning and dreaming about a home that costs way more than you were led to believe. I mean, a variance of 20% on a $100 purchase doesn't really matter. It's only $20. But on a million-dollar custom home, it could be a deal breaker, or at least make you think twice about the rooftop conservatory you were dreaming about adding. The problem is getting an accurate custom home price is easier said than done. Online prices almost always include that tricky word from, which is code for the final price is going to be way more. And initial estimates from builders are often significantly lower than the final price. Here are some pricing pitfalls to watch out for to make sure you don't get short 6 figures or more and ensure you can still have your conservatory. Footings and finishes. It's crazy, I know, but you'd be surprised how many builders leave footings and finishes, things like cabinets, flooring, tapware, etc., out of their initial estimates. Rather than including a basic allowance for these, like we do. Some builders say, we can't price footings until we get soil tests, and, we can't price finishes until you make your selections. The problem is, these critical elements often add tens or even hundreds of thousands to the final custom house price. That's information you'd like to know from the start, right? Energy efficiency. Although many builders claim to build energy-efficient and even Passive Houses, The prices they advertise on their websites and quote in initial estimates often leave out the critical elements needed to make a house energy efficient. Then, when you receive your final contract, you see thousands added on for windows, glazing, and insulation— things you would expect would be included from the beginning. Scheduling. The biggest cost blowouts in building a custom home come from poor scheduling. The saying, That time is money is true, and every minute a house is sitting idle waiting for a tradesperson, or a tradesperson is sitting idle waiting for a clear path or supplies so they can do their work, it's costing thousands of dollars a day. And it's often the little things that add up. An extra 60 days hire fees for temporary fencing, scaffolding, and even the onsite toilet can add thousands to your custom house price. Drive around any new housing estate and you'll see houses sitting idle everywhere. That's millions of dollars literally going down the drain. We use an advanced project management platform to plan everything to the day before we pick up a tool, and we keep everything running like clockwork to ensure our custom house prices are spot on and your home comes in on time and on budget. Workmanship. You've heard the saying, measure twice, cut once. Well, you'd be surprised how many tradespeople forget this basic principle. And waste time and supplies redoing things. Our network of trusted trades are fastidious when it comes to doing things right the first time. We support this through on-site supervision that includes regular meetings to ensure everyone is on the same page and working together as a well-oiled machine. This enables us to price custom houses accurately and deliver a quality result we can all feel proud of. The best way to get an accurate, honest price for your custom home. Building a custom home requires dozens of people performing hundreds of tasks in perfect sequence. This article outlines just some of the areas that can cause your final custom house price to exceed your initial estimate. Apart from getting a fully detailed quote, the best way to get an accurate, honest custom home price is to ask your builder for examples of custom homes they've built recently, along with what the full contract price was. Then you can see the real cost, not the often misleading advertised cost many builders promote. Whether you're ready to build or still looking at your options, we'd be glad to give you examples of our custom homes and go through all the costs and alternatives with you. Book a free consultation where we will answer your questions And give you an accurate and honest custom house price estimate so you can plan the custom home you want without any nasty surprises.
