What is the average Homebuild process timeline in New Zealand?

Building a home is a complex process that will be both overwhelming and exciting. Planning and creating a place to call your own is a truly life-changing experience. To help you put your best foot forward, one of the first things you should do is pre-frame expectations, both for yourself and the people involved. When you have a clear idea of what to expect going into this process, you are more likely to feel more in control and be actively engaged in your home-build process. 

A few other planning steps that you will want to get into are:

-Budgeting. Start with a draft budget. One that is affordable but still has a bit of wiggle room for the currently unknown. Your site and site conditions can alter the scope of your budget. As you nail down the next few steps, you will be able to create a more defined budget along the way.

–Finding your designer. A knowledgeable designer will be able to advise on the perks and challenges of a potential site. Solidifying your home brief earlier on in the process will allow both you and your designer to look at a site with a plan in mind. Remember, not all designs work on all sites. This is why finding the right designer early on is crucial.

-Finding the right site. Your home design will be influenced by your lifestyle, your necessities and your passions. But other significant factors need to be considered too, such as location, sun orientation, contour and neighbours. As well as both the local built environment and the natural environment. Your designer will be able to advise you on how these factors will affect your potential site.

(Pssst- Don’t forget to gather multiple quotes and referrals from various trade services)

But for now, back to the home build timeline. What you could likely expect to build a house in New Zealand from the ground up is to have a complete house in 10-12 months. After securing your ideal site, the design through to consent can often take 3-6 months, depending on if you need a resource consent or not. These timelines can vary, so don’t go booking your moving truck just yet! 

Some things that could alter the speed of your home build timeline:

  • Design complexity. If you’re after a more detailed design, this can sometimes extend your timeline as certain features take longer to implement. As well as the size of your house, are you going to have multiple stories, for example? What’s that saying? Good things take time!
  • The type of build. If you’re going custom all the way, then your house will almost certainly take longer to complete compared to a pre-fabricated or off-site build.
  • Weather. Weather is always going to play a factor in construction. However, if you opt for an off-site build, it minimises the amount of time you need to concern yourself with the unpredictable weather.
  • Site conditions. This can stretch out your timeline if your site is out in the wop-wops or on a tricky slope simply because the construction is more challenging and takes longer for everything to happen on a sloping site. It also often means that there will be a greater focus on the foundation designs. Although sloping sites often provide better and more interesting outcomes, it takes longer and costs extra. 


According to NewHomeSource, the rough sequence of events that you can expect to track in the physical build of your house are: 

  1. Prepare foundations and construction site.
  2. Structural wall/roof framing.
  3. Installation of plumbing and electrical.
  4. Insulation installation. Don’t forget to maximise this to have a healthy home!
  5. Wall linings and interior fixtures.
  6. Interior trimmings, exterior walkways.
  7. Install hard-surface flooring and countertops.
  8. Complete mechanical trims, install bathroom fixtures.
  9. Exterior finishing, landscaping (hard & soft)
  10. Install more detailed trims, mirrors, shower doors: complete flooring, Final walkthrough!

Don’t worry; this is information is only for your understanding. Your building partner/contractor will manage all of this on your behalf!

Remember, pre-frame your expectations, be prepared for issues to pop up. You can do this. Learning what you do and don’t know is one of the first steps. The next is getting help in the areas that you don’t understand. 

Reach out if you need help with your next home build!