As the cost-of-living increases with higher interest rates and inflationary pressures, it’s more important than ever to keep a lid on building costs, even if you’re building your dream home. You also don’t want to overcapitalise your building project. The good news is that with the right advice you can keep building costs down but still get a house you’ll be proud to call home.

There are many ways you can save money and a professional building company like ZAC Homes can help with the right advice. Ideas that we often share with our customers include choosing a standard design, creating a budget and sticking to it, locking in the price at the start, understanding inclusions and minimising upgrades, and taking advantage of promotions.

Picking a standard design and not making changes

At ZAC Homes, we divide our services into four distinct types:

Fast Track – off-the-plan design
My Style – modify an existing design
Tailored approach – custom design with complete flexibility
Zac By Design – the ultimate luxury home building experience

With Fast Track, you choose an off-the-plan design, with no changes. It’s the fastest path to tender with the quickest turnaround times.

There are several advantages but the most attractive is the affordability. ZAC’s Fast Track homes feature standard designs, and with the volume of homes built, we can achieve lower prices for bulk purchasing of materials and labour.

It’s also great to see exactly how your home will look by visiting a display home like ZAC Homes displays at Marsden Park and Box Hill. You and your family can see the dimensions and layout of a floor plan and gauge how it matches your lifestyle. You can also inspect the workmanship and quality of finishes, and touch, test and inspect all aspects of your new home.

You can still add an individual touch to your new home with fixtures and finishes, as well as being able to choose from the many designs and facades offered.

Creating a budget and sticking to it

The single most important way to save money while building your new home is to create a realistic budget and stick to it.

Your budget may be determined by how much money you can borrow to build your new home, plus any savings you may have. Once you’ve established how much you can afford you can start researching your options.

If you change your mind in the middle of the building process, it will cost you extra money so stick to your plans and you can’t go wrong. Keep all your paperwork including receipts so you can track your expenditure throughout the build.

Locking in the price as soon as possible

Building companies have different approaches to pricing their jobs, but if you want to lock in a price before you start building then you need to ask for a fixed price tender and then sign a contract that locks in the price.

Before signing make sure the contract really does include everything to complete your home.

And ask lots of questions about the process the builder will be following once you’ve signed the contract.

Knowing what’s in your inclusions and having a budget for upgrades

Most volume builders will have different levels of inclusion which are packaged together to make it easier to choose. Most homes will come with standard fittings, fixtures and appliances built into the price. At ZAC Homes, each of our home designs comes with our Opulence Inclusions, site costs and BASIX as standard.

There might be some things you’d like to upgrade by choosing a higher level of inclusions like benchtops, bathroom ware and tiles, light fittings, flooring and more. But every time you choose a more expensive inclusion the price will go up, so focus on the things that matter most to you.

For example, the ZAC Homes Opulence Plus inclusions packag e includes stone benchtops for your kitchen and bathrooms, 900 mm appliances and items such as 2,590 mm raised ceiling heights. While our Opulence Grand inclusions has luxury kitchen and bathroom upgrades as well as higher quality finishes throughout the home.

Making the most of promotions

Volume buildings will run promotions from time to time that will help you save money so keep an eye out and take advantage of any offers. But don’t be lured in by an offer that appears to be too good to be true. Make sure the builder is reputable and is transparent about the total cost of your new home.

At ZAC Homes we’re currently running two promotions – a $20,000 Cash Discount and Free Solar Package. Both of these are for a limited time only and several Terms & Conditions apply to each.

Build a new home on budget with ZAC Homes

ZAC Homes builds with trust, respect, integrity and pride, which we work hard to deliver to every client. Call us on 1300 350 793 or send us an online enquiry and our team will work with you to design and build your dream home.