New to Australia, and thinking about building in Perth?
Building a home in Western Australia is not as complicated as it looks from the outside. It is unfamiliar, which is a different problem. This page walks through it in order, in plain English, and assumes you know none of it already.
The three things people tell us they are worried about
These come up in nearly every first conversation we have with someone who has recently moved here. None of them is a silly question.
“I will be overcharged because I do not know what things cost here.”
It is a fair worry and it is close to the reason we exist. We are paid by the builders on our panel, never by you, and nothing is added to your contract for using us. That means we can put two quotes side by side and tell you which one is actually cheaper once you count what each of them leaves out.
“I do not understand how any of this works.”
Almost nobody does the first time, including people who grew up here. There is a fixed order to it, and every step should be explained to you before you are asked to sign anything. If a step has not been explained, that is a reason to pause. It is not a sign you are behind.
“I have only just arrived. I will not qualify for anything.”
That is a question with a real answer, and getting it takes one conversation. What a lender can do depends on your visa, your income and your savings, and lenders differ from one another. Assuming the answer is no can cost you a year.
How building a home in WA works, step by step
Six steps, always in this order. If someone asks you to skip one, ask why.
Find out what you can borrow
Before you look at land or house plans, have your borrowing capacity checked. It costs nothing, and it decides everything that comes after it. We introduce you to mortgage brokers who work with WA lenders every day.
Choose the area, then the block
Land is the harder half in Perth. Blocks in the busier estates move quickly, and the block you choose sets what the build on top of it will cost. We look for one that suits both the home you want and how the suburb is likely to hold its value.
Match a builder to the block and the budget
Different builders suit different blocks, budgets and timelines. We are not owned by one and not tied to one, so we can tell you plainly which of them fits your situation and which of them does not.
Design the home
The plan is adjusted to the block, to how you actually live, and to whether you are building to live in or to rent out. Most of the long-term value in a build is won or lost here, before anything is dug.
Read the contracts, then sign them
There are usually two, one for the land and one for the build, with separate deposits and separate timelines. Read both before you sign either. We go through them with you and point out what is excluded.
Settlement, then construction
A conveyancer handles the legal transfer of the land. Construction then runs in stages through to handover, with payments falling due as each stage is reached. You keep one point of contact for the whole of it.
The words you will hear, and what they mean
Builders and agents use these constantly and rarely stop to explain them. None of them is complicated once someone does.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Titled land | A block that is legally ready to be bought and settled now. Untitled land has been sold but the paperwork and services are not finished, so settlement waits until they are. Ask for the estimated title date in writing. |
| Settlement | The day the land legally becomes yours and the money changes hands. |
| Conveyancer | The person who handles the legal transfer of the land. You choose one, and we can arrange it for you. |
| Site costs | What it costs to make your particular block ready to build on, soil, slope, fill, retaining, connecting services. Two blocks in the same street can differ by a lot. |
| Provisional sum | An allowance in the contract for something not yet chosen or not yet fully known. If the real cost comes in higher, you pay the difference. This is one of the most common sources of a surprise. |
| Prime cost item | Much the same idea, for a specific fitting, a tap, an oven, where an amount has been set aside rather than a product chosen. |
| Variation | A change to the contract after it has been signed. Each one has a price, and they accumulate. |
| Fixed-price contract | A contract where the price is set, subject to whatever that contract itself allows to change. Read those clauses. “Fixed” rarely means every dollar is locked. |
| Progress payments | You pay the builder in instalments as construction reaches each stage, rather than all at once. |
| Slab | The concrete base of the house. “Slab down” is the first stage you can see from the street. |
| Lock-up | The stage where roof, external walls, windows and doors are on, so the house can be locked. |
| Pre-start | The meeting where you lock in your selections, tiles, taps, colours, power points. Changes after pre-start usually cost money. |
| Practical completion | The point where the house is finished enough to hand over. You inspect it and list anything that still needs fixing. |
| Handover | The day you get the keys. |
| Design guidelines | Rules set by the estate about what your home may look like: materials, roof pitch, fencing, sometimes a minimum build value. They are enforceable, and they can rule out a design you have already fallen for. |
| Turnkey | A package meant to include everything so you can move straight in. What “everything” covers differs between builders. Read the inclusions list rather than the word. |
| Display home | A furnished show home. What you can see in it is usually not what the advertised price includes. |
| Lenders mortgage insurance | Insurance that protects the lender, not you. It is usually charged when your deposit is small. Some schemes exist specifically to avoid it. |
Six things about building here that catch people out
None of these are hidden. They are simply assumed knowledge, and nobody tells you the assumed part.
- Land and build are usually two separate contracts, with two separate deposits and two separate timelines.
- Land is often sold before it is titled, so you can buy a block months before you are able to settle on it.
- An advertised house and land price is tied to one specific block and one specific design. It is a starting point, not a quote for you.
- Site costs depend on your block, not on your house. Ask for a figure worked out on that block, not a general allowance.
- Most new estates have design guidelines you have to build within, and they are enforceable.
- The salesperson in a display home works for that builder. That is not dishonest. It is simply who they represent.
People who had not done this before either
As an inexperienced first time builder, he was always patient in listening to what we wanted and provided valuable ideas / suggestions to our house design. He understood our situation and did his best to get the best possible outcome.
Navigating whole process from finding land, builder, finance offer into your dream house can be stressful and challenging. We received genuine and better offer to assist our situation with more than what we expected to get. House and Land Co delivers above and beyond.
I reached out and had Amanda Jeffrey assist me step by step, answering all my questions and understanding my need for easy to understand information.
What a lender will ask you for
Nobody expects you to arrive knowing this. Start gathering these now rather than at the point you find a block you like, because the block will not wait.
- Proof of identity, and your current visa status
- Recent payslips, or two years of returns if you work for yourself
- Bank statements covering your savings and your spending
- Details of any loans, credit cards or buy-now-pay-later accounts
- Where your deposit has come from
Before you rely on a number
Whether you qualify for a WA or federal scheme depends on your circumstances, including your residency status, and the rules change. We do not guess at that, and neither should anyone selling you a house. We check it with you, and you can confirm your own position with RevenueWA, Keystart and firsthomebuyers.gov.au. Our grants and schemes page explains what each is for.
See roughly where you stand, in about a minute
An indicative range, not a pre-approval and not advice. It exists to tell you whether the conversation is worth having, which for most people is the only question in the way.
This is an indicative guide, not a pre-approval, a quote, or financial advice. Lenders assess income, expenses, credit history and the property itself. Grant and duty thresholds change, confirm your own position with RevenueWA, Keystart and your lender. We are happy to walk through your actual numbers with a partner mortgage broker. That costs nothing.
Common questions
Can I build a house in Australia if I am not a citizen?
It depends on your visa, and for buying land it can also depend on rules that apply to some buyers and not to others. This is one of the first things to establish rather than assume, and it is one of the first things we check with you. Do not take an answer from a forum as your answer.
Do I need permanent residency to get a home loan?
Not necessarily. Lenders treat visa types differently from one another, so the answer depends on which lender you go to. That is the reason to talk to a mortgage broker who deals with WA lenders daily, rather than applying at one bank and treating a no as final.
Am I eligible for the government grants and schemes?
Eligibility depends on your circumstances, including your residency status, and the rules change. We will not guess at it, and neither should anyone selling you a house. We check it with you, and you can confirm your own position with RevenueWA, Keystart and firsthomebuyers.gov.au. Our grants and schemes page explains what each one is for.
How long does it take to build a home in Perth?
Timeframes have stretched across WA in recent years and they vary by builder and by estate, so a number quoted to somebody else is not your number. Ask your builder for their current build time in writing, and ask separately when the land is expected to be titled. Those are two different clocks and only one of them starts when you sign.
What does your service cost me?
Nothing. We are paid by the builders on our panel when a client goes ahead and builds, and no fee is added to your contract for using us. Our how we get paid page sets the whole arrangement out.
What if my English is not strong?
Ask us to slow down, to write it down, or to go over something a second and a third time. That is a normal request and nobody will think less of you for making it. We would far rather explain something three times than have you sign a contract you have not fully understood.
Start with a conversation, not a contract
Tell us where you are up to. If the answer is that now is not the right time, we will tell you that too. It costs you nothing either way.