PHOTO: MEDIAWORKS Architect Chris Moller, host of Grand Designs NZ, says building a house is much more complex than most people realise, and there can be lots of reasons for budget blowouts.
No-one wants cost escalations on a new home build, so why does this happen?
An Auckland homeowner, who spoke to Stuff and wishes to remain anonymous, has just completed a high-end beach house on the Coromandel Peninsula, which came out a massive 31 percent over budget.
“Everything was itemised, and we paid over $2000 to a quantity surveyor to get what we thought would be an accurate costing for the entire project,” he says. “He was out by more than $600,000. And when we discussed this with the architect we were told, ‘oh that happens all the time’.
READ MORE VIA STUFF