Building costs per square metre have reached historic highs over the last couple of years, driven by several factors which we’ll touch on in this article. More specifically, we cover the average cost of building a house per sq metre in 2024 across various regions in the UK.
Rather than providing you with an aggregated figure, we’ve mined the intel from millions of data points to show you the average costs per sq metre for East Anglia, London, the Midlands, North England, the South East, the South West, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
Given the volatile rate of inflation and building materials prices, these estimates are constantly changing. We aim to publish a new article every six months to give you the latest insights.
Why Are House-Building Costs Rising?
We covered this at length in a previous article, but to give you a quick overview, building costs have risen sharply over the last couple of years, initially triggered by shortages in the pandemic, and then exacerbated by inflationary pressure.
But even after the effects of the pandemic abated, other economic factors have sustained the high materials prices:
- The Russia-Ukraine war has led to severe shortages of materials and fuel.
- Brexit has given rise to shipping delays, a reduction in foreign workers, and a widening trade deficit (the difference between exports and imports).
- A sustained level of high demand means builders and suppliers can charge more.
It’s doubtful that prices will return to previous levels.
Methodology For Our Construction Cost Calculations
House-building costs vary significantly depending on many factors. For instance, Purple Bricks reports that it costs on average £1,200 to £1,500 per square metre to build a house yet provides no context regarding the specification, location, or size of the dwelling. They’re basing that on a general rule of thumb.
The old adage “How long is a piece of string?” inevitably springs to mind.
In our calculations, we applied a consistent methodology across different regions. We focused on comparing a mid-range specification of a three-bedroom new-build project. The average number of bedrooms in the UK is 2.95 rooms per house, so we rounded it up to 3.
The average total floor area of a dwelling in the UK is 94m2. However, new-build designs generally exceed the average floor area of a UK home. Our data shows that a typical two-storey three-bedroom new build has a gross internal floor area (GIFA) of 110m2 – which we have based our calculation on.
Rooms included in our average costs are three bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, a living room, a dining room, a cloakroom, the hallway and landing, and a dedicated boiler and storage cupboard. A garage was excluded from our calculations since only a third of UK homes have one.
In terms of build specification, our pricing calculator has three options:
· Low spec is a basic finish; e.g. Leyland, Everest, Wickes.
· Mid spec is a standard finish; e.g. Dulux, Hamilton, Slim Line.
· High spec is a high-spec finish; e.g. Farrow & Ball, Fine Line, Siemens.
For the purposes of this comparison of build costs per square metre, we have chosen mid spec.
Average House Build Costs Per Square Metre – By Region
Here’s a table showing the average building costs per square metre for a three-bedroom house in the UK (by region), where:
· Low benchmark – smaller companies are generally lower cost but less specialised and with low project management function; good for low/mid-spec projects and tight budgets.
· Mid benchmark – medium-sized companies offer a balanced mix of cost-effectiveness and specialisation; good for mid-range projects for effective execution within moderate budgets.
· High benchmark – larger companies generally have a higher cost base but can handle a wide variety of specialist tasks; good for mid/high-spec projects and project management.
Cost Per Square Metre Of Building A 3-Bedroom UK House (By Region)
| Cost Of Building A 3-Bedroom UK House (By Region) | Average Cost Per Sq Metre (excl. VAT) | ||
Low Benchmark | Mid Benchmark | High Benchmark | |
East Anglia | £2,386 | £2,571 | £2,765 |
London | £2,714 | £2,973 | £3,287 |
Midlands | £2,287 | £2,495 | £2,703 |
North England | £2,182 | £2,477 | £2,684 |
South East | £2,455 | £2,678 | £2,950 |
South West | £2,340 | £2,552 | £2,809 |
Scotland | £2,260 | £2,465 | £2,670 |
Wales | £2,304 | £2,513 | £2,723 |
Northern Ireland | £2,136 | £2,380 | £2,578 |
UK Average | £2,340 | £2,567 | £2,797 |
Average Total Cost Of Building A 3-Bedroom UK House (By Region)
Here’s a table showing the average total building costs for a three-bedroom house in the UK (by region):
| Cost Of Building A 3-Bedroom UK House (By Region) | Total Average Building Cost (excl. VAT) | ||
Low Benchmark | Mid Benchmark | High Benchmark | |
East Anglia | £262,405 | £282,771 | £304,147 |
London | £298,486 | £327,058 | £361,552 |
Midlands | £251,625 | £274,500 | £297,375 |
North England | £239,981 | £272,496 | £295,204 |
South East | £270,005 | £294,551 | £324,474 |
South West | £257,355 | £280,751 | £308,949 |
Scotland | £248,545 | £271,140 | £293,736 |
Wales | £253,439 | £276,478 | £299,518 |
Northern Ireland | £234,931 | £261,798 | £283,614 |
UK Average | £257,419 | £282,394 | £307,619 |
Methodology For Ground-Floor Rear Extension Costs
As above, we applied a consistent methodology across different regions when calculating the average cost per square metre for a ground-floor rear extension.
This single-storey extension has a gross internal floor area of 30m2 (which estimates suggest is the UK average) and comprises three rooms in total: an open-plan kitchen and dining room, and a living room – including the costs of refurbishments in the existing rooms.
Costs Per Square Metre Of Building A Ground-Floor Rear Extension (By Region)
Here’s a table showing the average building costs per square metre for a ground-floor rear extension in the UK (by region):
| Cost of building a Ground-Floor Rear extension (By Region) | Average Cost Per Sq Metre (excl. VAT) | ||
Low Benchmark | Mid Benchmark | High Benchmark | |
East Anglia | £2,491 | £2,758 | £3,024 |
London | £2,897 | £3,269 | £3,607 |
Midlands | £2,513 | £2,742 | £2,970 |
North England | £2,416 | £2,723 | £2,950 |
South East | £2,655 | £2,896 | £3,181 |
South West | £2,559 | £2,792 | £3,064 |
Scotland | £2,488 | £2,714 | £2,940 |
Wales | £2,515 | £2,743 | £2,972 |
Northern Ireland | £2,416 | £2,635 | £2,855 |
UK Average | £2,550 | £2,808 | £3,063 |
Average Total Cost Of Building A Ground-Floor Rear Extension (By Region)
Here’s a table showing the average total building costs for a ground-floor rear extension in the UK (by region):
| Cost Of Building A Ground Floor Rear Extension (By Region) | Total Average Building Cost (excl. VAT) | ||
Low Benchmark | Mid Benchmark | High Benchmark | |
East Anglia | £74,742 | £82,744 | £90,745 |
London | £86,924 | £98,079 | £108,228 |
Midlands | £75,408 | £82,263 | £89,119 |
North England | £72,480 | £81,694 | £88,501 |
South East | £79,661 | £86,903 | £95,456 |
South West | £76,792 | £83,773 | £91,935 |
Scotland | £74,650 | £81,436 | £88,223 |
Wales | £75,456 | £82,316 | £89,175 |
Northern Ireland | £72,480 | £79,069 | £85,658 |
UK Average | £76,510 | £84,253 | £91,893 |
Average cost to build a house
So, how much does it cost to build a new house in the UK? That depends largely on where you are building. If you’re building a house in London, the overall cost is around £327,058 (excluding VAT), whereas it’ll cost you an average of £272,496 in North England.
Bear in mind that these are averages and that significant outliers do, in fact, exist. Manchester, for instance, is situated in North England. According to Statista, Manchester has the second-highest residential construction costs per square metre in the UK – second only to London.