the construction of a private house in Latvia costs 200,000 euros on average (+VIDEO)

Although most people still live in apartment buildings, the desire to build their own private house also remains popular year after year. Currently, every tenth mortgage loan is issued directly for the construction of a private house, according to statistical data. However, a loan for the construction of a house is a slightly more complicated process than a loan for the purchase of an apartment – the costs are mostly not fixed and fully predictable, however, it is possible to plan and preliminarily determine the amount of costs for most positions. Kaspars Sausais, an expert in housing lending, explains what is the most expensive in the house building process and what should not be forgotten to be included in the cost.

In the construction of standard houses, the average cost is about 1400-1700 euros per square meter

When starting to plan the construction of a house and the search for the necessary financing, it is important to realize in advance that building a private house is not cheap. In the construction of standard houses, the average cost is about 1400-1700 euros per square meter, and the average amount of credit for house construction is about 200,000 euros (calculated on the average house size of 135 m2). The amount of total costs will depend on the chosen builder and the size of the house, as well as on the chosen materials. Although high-quality and energy-efficient materials will certainly increase the total cost, if you want to live in the house for a longer period of time, they will provide higher comfort and pay off in the long run.

The most expensive in the construction of a private house – foundations, frame and roof

When examining the items of house construction costs, the shape of the house most often makes up the largest part. “The foundation, roof and walls make up to 50% of the total cost of the house, and the rest – windows, facade decoration, internal and external communications, internal decoration, including plumbing, possible built-in furniture, landscaping and other extras, such as solar panels. , automatic territory gates, automatic garage gates, territory video surveillance and/or security sensors in the territory, automatic irrigation, or even “smart house” elements, where the possible increase in costs is very wide construction works and seeing the real conditions, additional work must be done so that the foundation construction is adequate and of high quality.

It should also be remembered that the information about construction costs found on the Internet does not always correspond to the current market prices and the client’s wishes. Construction companies tend to advertise lower costs without including items such as landscaping or plumbing equipment, so the real cost of building each house can only be determined after individual project development and material selection. Usually, at the start of construction, when customers become deeply interested in construction materials and their quality, higher quality and therefore more expensive materials are often chosen, which were not foreseen in the initial estimate. Therefore, we recommend including in the estimate unexpected expenses in the amount of up to 10% of the total estimate.

What costs do you forget to include in the calculation?

There are a number of items in the house construction estimate, some of which people tend to forget or do not plan when initially calculating the total cost of the house. One of them can even be the purchase of land, the cost of which can vary significantly from 20 to 150 euros per square meter of a plot of land. It is important not only to buy land, but also to make sure of its permitted use, which is determined in the planning of the territory of the specific municipality. A private house may be built only on plots of land intended for construction, therefore, if the specified purpose is different, the owner of the land must propose a change of purpose of land use before starting construction.

It is also important to make sure of the communications available to the plot, such as electricity, water (and its quality) and sewerage. Land without utilities can cost up to ten times less than with utilities, because the costs of their installation are relatively high. It should also be taken into account that in order to meet the financing requirements, the construction land must at least have an electricity connection and a driveway. You can find out about the possibilities of installing communication in the municipality or by contacting specific service providers, for example Latvenergo, Latvijas gāze and others.