Write one brief for every builder
A lower headline price is hard to interpret if the proposals describe different jobs. Start with one brief covering the address, plan or room requirements, finish expectations and the outside work you want completed. Give each builder the same documents and ask them to identify assumptions in their response.
For a four-bedroom home, include more than the bedroom count. Note the floor area, number of bathrooms, garage, living spaces, storage and outdoor connections. That makes the comparison about the home you actually want to live in.
Build your comparison around these five headings
Create a column for each proposal and a row for each item below. Use the written scope rather than a brochure image to fill the cells.
- House: plan version, floor area, cladding, roof, glazing, heating and finish selections
- Site: earthworks, foundations, retaining, service connections and drainage
- Project work: design, reports, applications and other professional input, with responsibility identified
- Move-in scope: driveway, paths, floor coverings, window coverings, fencing and landscaping
- Unresolved items: allowances, exclusions, expiry dates and information still needed
Compare the certainty of the numbers
A clearly labelled allowance can be more useful than an unexplained total. Ask what information the allowance is based on, what needs to happen before the item can be priced and how a change would be handled under the proposed terms. Have exclusions written out so they are part of your overall project budget.
Stroud uses the term set price. Read the proposed contract and inclusions together, including how requested variations and circumstances outside the agreed scope are handled. The contract guide below explains the site's terminology; your actual proposal is the document to discuss with the team and your adviser.
Add the costs that sit outside the builder's proposal
For a rebuild, keep demolition, disconnections, disposal, accommodation and storage visible. For a new section, keep land acquisition and any work supplied separately visible. Do not assume a house-only figure and a house-and-land package cover the same purchase.
There is no need to make every proposal look identical. If one includes something you value, record that difference and ask whether the others can price the same outcome. The aim is a decision you can explain, with fewer unknowns hidden behind the total.
Use the comparison to choose the next conversation
Send the team your section address, the home brief and the questions that remain open. Ask which items can be clarified now and which need a site visit or further design information. MBIE's planning guidance is a useful reference for the wider project stages and responsibilities.
Make a three-column comparison
Use a column for each builder and a row for each part of the job. If one quote includes flooring and another does not, record the difference before deciding which total is lower. Use “not confirmed” when the document does not say.
- Does each quote use the same plan version?
- What is included by one proposal but absent from another?
- Which amounts can change, and what would resolve them?