Introduction
Ask three builders to price your home and you will get three numbers that look comparable and are not. Comparing them fairly is less about arithmetic than about making sure each builder has priced the same house.
The first problem is scope. If one builder quotes from your architect’s drawings and another quotes from their own interpretation of them, you are comparing two different buildings. Before you request pricing, fix the scope: drawings, specification, finishes schedule, and a clear statement of what is included and what is not. Every builder prices that same document, and the numbers become meaningful.
Why Quotes Differ
The second problem is the provisional sum. Site costs, earthworks, retaining, driveways and landscaping are frequently carried as allowances rather than fixed prices. A quote that carries a fifteen thousand dollar site cost allowance will look cheaper than one carrying thirty thousand — right up until the excavator arrives. Ask what each allowance is based on, whether a soil test and contour survey informed it, and what happens if the real cost exceeds it.
The third is the specification gap. Windows, insulation, waterproofing, tiling heights, cabinetry carcass material, tap ware, the number and placement of power points: these rarely appear in a summary quote and account for enormous differences. Build a simple comparison table, line by line, and fill it from each quote. The gaps will be obvious and so will the questions worth asking.
Read The Inclusions
Watch for exclusions written as single lines. “Excludes connection of services” or “excludes council fees” can carry five figures. So can “price subject to final engineering”. Anything phrased as subject to something is a price that has not been set.
Consider the contract terms alongside the number. A fixed price contract with a short list of provisional sums is worth more than a slightly cheaper contract with a long one. Look at the progress payment schedule, the stated build time, and whether liquidated damages apply if that time is exceeded.
Compare Like For Like
Then consider the things a spreadsheet cannot hold. How long has the builder been trading under this entity? What is their current workload? How did they respond when you asked a difficult question? A cheap price from a builder under financial pressure is the most expensive outcome available.
Fair comparison is not about finding the lowest number. It is about knowing, before you sign, what each number actually buys and where each one is likely to move. That takes a standardised scope, a disciplined reading of what has been excluded, and the willingness to ask the awkward question early — which is exactly the work an independent procurement process is designed to do.
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