What’s the Average Home Construction Cost in India?

All of us dream to have a house of our own. While some of us end up buying a ready to move house in a residential complex, many of us prefer to construct a house on our own land. But as you know, home construction on a plot is an overwhelming and time taking process. However, if you have decided to construct a house of your own and you have no clue about how much the average home construction cost in India, then here’s the post worth checking.

Today in this post, I am sharing everything worth knowing about the construction cost for a new home. I am also going to help you calculate the cost of constructing a new house in 2021 on a plot size of 1200 sq ft.

Although the average home construction cost in Indian was around Rs. 700-1000 per square feet in 2018 with standard quality materials, the construction costs have increased substantially in 2021.  

Today, average home construction cost can range between Rs. 1300 per sq ft – 2000 per sq ft, depending on the grade of raw materials you want to use, and quality of finish you want in your new house.

You already know that the home construction cost primarily depends on the size of the house, elevation design and quality of the raw materials being used in the construction. Apart from those crucial factors, a good portion of the total home construction budget will go towards the payment of labour charges.

All in all, calculating the cost of constructing a new house in India is not that simple and straightforward. Because, detailed home construction estimates include various cost heads, and variable factors with severe impact on construction costs. Therefore, if you want to calculate the tentative cost of constructing a new house today in India then you must consider these cost heads and factors.

Today in this post, I’ll give you a good overview of those cost heads and factors that must be considered to calculate tentative home construction cost for budgeting purposes.

So are you ready? Lets’ find out the average cost of constructing a house in India. We’ll also create a simple formula that you can use to calculate estimates costs for new home construction project.

How to calculate the cost of constructing a house in India

Constructing a house is a long term project which may take anywhere between 12 to 18 months to complete, if everything goes well. However, if the construction gets paused and halted for any reason, then it may take even longer and cost more to complete the construction. It requires a lot of patience, planning, estimation and involvement of several experts, professionals and contractors to build a house in a timely manner.

But, with proper construction planning and detailed estimation of cost heads, you should be able to manage a home construction project much efficiently and complete it on time.

However, if you start constructing a house without planning and budgeting, you can easily get caught up with issues that you thought are not important. For instance, if you did not get approval, or could not manage funding, the construction work may have to be halted which may result in higher construction costs and delays in completion. However, with proper construction planning, you can manage the expenses well and eventually reduce the home construction costs as well.

Lack of planning and inadequate budgeting can pose different challenges during the construction, which may result in delays, price rise and poor quality of construction. And that is the last thing anyone would like to experience while constructing a house.

We have been working with developers and architects and have managed many home construction projects and sites. I know what it costs to build a house today.

If you are building a house, then I can help you get a good understanding of how to calculate the tentative home construction cost in India that’ll help you to plan and build your home efficiently.

So, here’s what matters and what should be considered when calculating the estimate to build a new house in India.

Size of the plot and the house

The cost of constructing a new house primarily depends on the size of the house e.g. number of rooms, floors you want to construct. Depending on the size of the plot of land where you want to construct your house, you can figure out the size of the house and number of floors you can build.

While deciding the size of the house, you should consider a permissible FAR (Floor Area Ratio) in your city. Depending on the geography, you should check the local building guidelines from the municipal corporation, development authority or Gram Panchayat to figure out how much of open space has to be kept while constructing the house on your plot.

Moreover, it’s not just the permissible FAR, but you should also consider your immediate space requirements and future space requirements to decide the size of the house you should build.

Architectural design of the house

Once you get the idea of FAR and how much of space has to be left open as per the local building guidelines, the next step is to onboard a professional architect to get a customized house plan design and architectural drawings for your new home.

The very thing that you need is a proper house plan based on your plot size and layout. House plan consists of a set of detailed drawings that helps you visualize the entire layout of your upcoming house e.g. position and size of different rooms and areas like bedrooms, kitchen, living hall, bathroom, balcony, parking, passage etc. Depending on the number of floors you want to build, there’ll be a specific floor plan for every floor of the proposed house.

The architect and structural engineers are going to charge you a professional fee to help you design a customized house plan. House plan design charges in India vary depending on the expertise and experience of the architects you are working with and the level of detailing you want in your house plan.

Some of the architects in India charge a flat fee to design a house floor plan as per your plot and requirements. And some architectural firms charge based on the plot and total built up area.

Generally, to design a house plan for a 1000 sq ft plot size, the architect fees can range from Rs. 10000 to Rs. 15000 assuming you need a different set of drawings. But, please note that the architect’s fees for designing a house plan may increase in case of larger plot/house size. And if you want them to visit the site during construction, then they may charge separately for every site visit.

At Houseyog, we charge a flat fee of Rs. 4449.00 (plus GST @18%) to design a space optimized customized house plan for a 1000 sq ft single floor house. Our house plans are very detailed and contain furniture layout and column position marking. And the cherry on the cake is unlimited revision that we offer during the design. You may like to check out our ready to use house design catalogue to get some inspiration before you design your own house.

Quality of raw materials to be used

Once you have the set of architectural drawings passed and approved by the local building authority, the next major cost head in constructing a house is the cost of materials. Based on the set of drawings, a qualified architect or a building contractor can prepare a bill of quantities for you. BOQ for constructing a house is a vital document as it lists out all the materials with tentative cost that will be required to construct a new house.

However, you can think of materials in two different ways e.g. materials required for civil work and materials required for finishing.

You require different types of raw materials for construction e.g. sand, cement, steel, brick etc. And then you require materials for flooring e.g. tiles, marbles, fittings for doors, windows, etc

However, the price of the construction and finishing materials depends on the quality, brand and grade you prefer to use. Prices of raw materials may also vary from city to city and based on the supplier you are buying from.

The cost and quality of materials that you want to use can have a major impact on overall home construction cost, and that’s where the detailed BOQ document can help you prepare better estimates and stay on budget during the construction.

Moreover, if you want to get home construction loan to build your house, then the bank will ask for a Bill of Quantities with detailed cost estimates to assess your loan application. They’ll only approve a construction loan when they are satisfied with all the documents, especially the projected estimates of construction you submit with your loan application.

Labour charges to be paid

Apart from the cost of construction materials, labour charges are going to be another major cost head that you need to consider when estimating the construction cost. During the construction of a house, you will be working with different types of contractors and they charge differently. For instance, someone with expertise in brick work and plastering will charge differently than the flooring and waterproofing contractor.

And therefore it makes sense to work with one reliable home builder contractor who can execute the entire construction work from RC work to column, brick work to plastering, roofing to flooring and waterproofing etc.

However, you should take quotations from multiple home builder contractors to know the market rates. Moreover, home construction is a time taking project, and you are most likely going to work with your contractor for the next 12-18 months. And therefore, it is important that the construction contractor is truly reliable, transparent and has the expertise to pull it off on time and in your budget.

Also, it is easier to deal with one efficient contractor than coordinating and struggling with different independent contractors for different tasks, and hence it’s better to work with a full stack home builder. Here’s a detailed post on hiring a builder to build your home.

Calculating average home construction cost in India

Now that you know about the major costs and how it may affect the home construction cost, let me help you with tentative construction costs in India. The average home construction cost in India ranges from Rs. 1300 per sq ft to Rs. 2500 per sq ft. It includes standard quality materials and labor costs.

However, this cost does not include the architectural service fees and fees for getting necessary approval and sanctions from the local authorities. It also does not include the interior designing and decorating charges. Above cost estimate is from the home construction which includes civil work and basic finishing like doors, windows, flooring etc.

Calculate the home construction cost based on materials

As per the size of the house you are building, the architects or the builder should give you the detailed cost estimates. The estimates should not include the quantities, but also the current market price for different materials.

But, you can use a simple formula to calculate the home construction cost for your own estimation and budgeting purpose.

First off, let’s divide the quality of materials and finishes as standard, premium and luxury and based on that, you can easily calculate the home construction cost.

For the sake of calculating the construction cost of a small house in India, let’s assume you want to build a house on a 30 x 40 sq ft or 1200 sq ft plot size. We are also assuming the standard build up area of around 900 sq ft space (after leaving some open space). If we leave space for car parking, then the actual build up area will be around 775 sq ft.

Assuming you want to build a small one floor house with a car parking space of around 125 sq ft, let’s calculate the tentative construction cost using standard, premium and luxury quality of materials.

Standard home construction cost

Our actual build up area out of a 1200 sq ft plot size, after leaving all the open space and car parking comes around 775 sq ft. if we are to use the standard quality materials, the construction cost would go around Rs. 1300- Rs. 1500 per square feet.

To build a single floor house in India with RCC and red brick with plaster and wall tiles in bathrooms and kitchens, it may cost around Rs. 1007500 to Rs. 1162500.

The cost is only for civil construction work with finishing. Also this estimate includes the labour charges.

Here’re the tentative prices for main raw materials:

• Polished granite at the entrance @ Rs. 60 per sq ft
• Car parking flooring using paved tiles @ Rs. 35 per sq ft
• Tiles flooring (except stairs) with tiles @ Rs. 80 per sq ft
• Granite kitchen countertop @ Rs. 90 per sq ft
• Ceramic wall tiles @ Rs. 60 per sq ft
• Semi polished granite flooring at staircase with MS railing @90 per sq ft
• Bathroom fittings @ Rs. 20000 per bathroom
• Sump and overhead water tank of around 10000 liter capacity.
• Rooftop tiling @ Rs. 35 per sq ft
• Waterproofing in bathrooms and terrace.
• Electrical wiring, points and accessories of mid range like anchor by Panasonic

Home construction cost with premium and luxury materials

If you wish to build the same house but want to use a little premium quality of products like floor tiles, wall tiles etc then construction cost can range from Rs. 1800 – Rs. 2000 per sq ft.

Similarly, if you want to build a super luxurious home with the best available products, the construction cost could range from Rs. 2000 – Rs. 2100 per square feet.

But as you know, the cost of construction can increase or decrease based on the quality of materials you decide to use.

Instead of using polished granite of Rs. 60 per square range you can use the granite of Rs. 80 per square feet. Similarly, you can use higher range premium floor and wall tiles in the kitchen, washroom and other areas.

For instance, premium grade bath fittings could cost you around Rs. 50000 – Rs. 60000 per bathroom.

Similarly, you can use premium quality electrical wires, switches and accessories from Havells which costs nearly the double for other similar products.

For instance a normal fan regulator by Anchor costs around Rs. 150 per pc. But the same fan regulator from Havells or Crabtree is going to cost you around Rs. 275 per pc.

Hope it helps you understand how vital the brands and products could be and how it could affect the overall construction cost.

Conclusion

While, there are many benefits of living in a residential complex, some of us still prefer to build your own house as per our space requirements and preference. Although you get a lot of facilities when living in a well maintained residential complex and societies. Living in your own house with a small backyard can be a different feeling altogether.

The cost of home construction in India can range between Rs. 1300 per sq ft using standard quality materials, Rs. 1800 per sq ft if you wish to use premium quality materials and Rs. 2000 per sq ft using luxurious quality materials.

If you are wondering about how to calculate the tentative construction cost for budgeting purposes, you can use the cost heads as shared above.

Hope it’ll help you in budgeting for the upcoming home construction the right way.

And if you have any question or want to share some tips, then feel free to do so by commenting below.

Happy home construction!!