Wellington
What it costs to build a house in Wellington
New dwellings consented in Wellington in Q1 2026 averaged $3,412 per square metre of building work, excluding land. That is 6% above the national average of $3,229.
What that means for a real house
| Floor area | Building work in Wellington | At the national rate |
|---|---|---|
| 120m² | $409,440 | $387,480 |
| 150m² | $511,800 | $484,350 |
| 200m² | $682,400 | $645,800 |
| 250m² | $853,000 | $807,250 |
Building work only. No land, no site works, no council contributions, no connections. Source: Stats NZ building consent data, analysed by interest.co.nz · the tables · checked 2026-09-16.
Building in Wellington
Tight sections, hill sites, wind loadings — Wellington new builds tend to be more bespoke than the Auckland or Canterbury greenfield norm. Upper Hutt, Whitby and Aotea (Porirua) carry most of the house-and-land work; the Wellington city builders lean toward design-and-build and renovation-plus-extension.
Where the new building is happening: Upper Hutt, Whitby, Aotea, Riverstone Terraces, Plimmerton Farm, Trentham.
What the figure does not include
This is the part that turns a $682,400 building cost into a much larger project budget. Land is the obvious one. The rest are the lines people find late:
- Site works — earthworks, retaining, drainage, driveway
- Council development contributions, charged per new dwelling
- Building consent and inspection fees
- Power, water, wastewater and fibre connections
- Landscaping, fencing and the driveway finish
- A contingency you will probably use