What to do when your new home gets too expensive to build

Isaac Morrow-Jones and Rubin Steyn partnered up on their first home development together – and they managed to pull it off amid spiking build prices across the state.

Both lived in Wavell Heights and saw the suburb as a growing market, and decided it was time to jump into their dream of developing a house.

“For us personally, it was always a conversation about wanting to do developments together,” Mr Morrow-Jones, 26, said.

“I know that sometimes things don’t go the way that they need to go, so I think I was prepared for the whole project from the start … now, we’ve actually brought it to fruition.”

Business partners Isaac Morrow-Jones and his partner Rubin Steyn at their newly completed house – their first development together. Picture: Annette Dew

One of the biggest problems for building in 2025 was the cost.

Housing Industry Association data has shown building material prices are at 35.4 per cent above pre-pandemic levels, with building and renovation costs spiking with it.

In 2025, it is 34.4 per cent more expensive for those looking to build a home compared to late 2019, and renovation costs have surged even higher with a 43 per cent jump.

Mr Jones and Mr Steyn are selling the property at 2 Taabinga St, Wavell Heights.

Mr Morrow-Jones previously worked in the construction industry, and said he saw things get harder for everyone in that profession over the past five years.

“After Covid, there were a lot of companies out there that were struggling from the price increase, especially because there were locked in contracts with developers,” he said. “Ultimately, a lot of projects that were priced pre-Covid were now in the red.”

It is now more than a third more expensive to build homes than it was in 2019, due to rising material prices and labour costs.

When building his house, Mr Morrow-Jones found builders to have accounted for these new price increases in the contract, which also included an uptick in labour costs.

He added that to help keep those prices down, he and Mr Steyn needed to make sure the materials they’d be using were readily available, avoiding the risk of further expense.

“What we selected at the start of the project, we knew 100 per cent that it was going to be available,” he said. “That’s a massive part of the cost.”

Mr Morrow-Jones’ top piece of advice is to go into your build knowing exactly the materials you’re working with, so that you don’t run into shortages. Picture: Annette Dew

The two business partners are now selling their completed build at 2 Taabinga St, Wavell Heights, with Place Ascot.

Place Ascot Director Drew Davies said rising build costs meant those looking to make a home from scratch might have to think harder about if they should – but added it was a good opportunity for developers.

“It depends if you’ve got a burning desire, and the capacity to do it yourself,” he said.

“There’s a super strong demand for finished product at the moment.”

“When you buy a finished product, the price is the price … you avoid those budget blowouts [with] a build.”

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