Cost estimate architect single-family house. Your assessment

Hi everyone,

I have a question for you. We bought a plot of land (NRW) with a slight slope and recently visited an architect who planned a single-family house for us with great anticipation.
At our first meeting, we said that we have a budget of about €260,000 for the house including everything. He said that we could get something nice for that.
Now we had the second appointment and he really planned something nice. He responded to the plot and designed a kind of split-level house with 2 building volumes and 2 shed roofs.

The planned house has an area of 146 m2 ground floor and upper floor living space + 24 m2 usable space = 170 m2 total area.

Now the architect made a cost estimate and according to him, calculated with medium standard. The cost range according to BKI for 260 to 410 m3 of enclosed space was assumed at 350 m3.

The cost estimate states 763.53 m3 x 350 € m3 = 267,236 € + carport 72 m3 x 100 € m3 = 7,218 = 274,455 € total construction sum without incidental construction costs

Or broken down differently

Preparation and development €4,600
Cost group 300 building construction €222,280
Cost group 400 technical equipment €45,180 (oil heating, ventilation system)
Outdoor facilities + carport €10,000 (I find that a bit little)
Incidental construction costs €41,188

this results in a total amount of €323,000 including VAT.

We were a bit shocked because we actually had €260,000 as a guideline and going over by €60,000 is quite a lot in my opinion. €280,000 is our absolute limit.
Of course, we still want to contribute the usual own work in the end (tiling, flooring, painting, outdoor facilities, interior finishing),
but that would only save about €15,000 - €20,000 at most.

What do you think? Are these really the amounts you have to pay today or did the architect just calculate very well or set the preliminary estimate too high? Or is the planned house too exclusive?

As a comparison, we once had a finished offer from a general contractor who offers very high quality. They planned a house with a pitched roof, 160 m2 (excluding attic) for €250,000 as a fixed price. Without basement, ventilation system, and outdoor facilities. But with the contractor’s variant, the plot would have had to be leveled.

Looking forward to your feedback

Regards, Thomas

Hello Thomas,

a "kind" of split level ... I really can't imagine what is meant by that. If you want a price estimate or valuation, the floor plans including section would be helpful.

If you don't want them to be publicly accessible, I of course understand that. Maybe you would like to email them to me as an alternative?

Rhenish greetings

1830 € / m² is decent - not completely out of the question, but not cheap either. Why oil heating? Are you building with a basement? Where is the tank supposed to be?
This makes the evaluation difficult -- what kind of house will it be? Does it have special features, many sliding doors, corner windows, projections? Two building sections with two shed roofs sounds special - no idea if that automatically has to be more expensive.
What are your monthly incomes? What could you afford for repayment and monthly installments? It would be a shame if you now put up a standard block and regret it for a lifetime and mourn the design.
What is the price per square meter for building land in your area? (Background: the more expensive it is, the more sensible it makes to put up an "expensive" house - if the sqm price is 30 €, you might not find a bank willing to finance extravagance).

Hello building expert,

I don’t have the plans with me right now, we are at the parents-in-law’s. So it is already a split-level house where the entrance is at ground level. Then the kitchen + dining room + utility room + room for the washing machine form one level. The stairs then go half a flight up or down. So you go down six / seven steps and have a small bathroom with a shower, the master bedroom, and a living room with direct access to the garden. From the stairs, you go up again to the two children’s rooms + bathroom + hallway. But that is only the area above the master bedroom, small bathroom, and living room. The part with kitchen / dining room is basically one floor and the rest has, so to speak, two floors. I hope I was able to explain that a little understandably without the plans?!

Can you say anything about the costs? Are they realistic? It’s a shame if you are 60,000 € over budget just like that. Especially when the floor plan already appeals quite well.

Sorry, I meant gas heating. The plot is 116 m2 of building land. The plot is divided into 650 m2 building land + 400 m2 green area at 4€ behind the house. The plot is already in our possession, but we are still paying it off with a €60,000 variable loan. However, it will then be paid off with the proper loan.

Hello,

what you describe is also what we currently have in mind with the split-level entrance. Living downstairs and sleeping upstairs. Could you maybe upload your current floor plans once you are at home?

Thank you
We are still in the exploratory phase and are still looking at what is even possible on the plot (2m slope over 20m)
We are currently leaning towards this solution because we only have an eaves height of 3m and want to achieve a good knee wall in the upper floor and still want to have direct access from the living area to the garden on the ground level