How we calculate

How each figure is made, so you can judge it for yourself.

1. Base building rates

Our base is the house and outbuilding rates in the AECOM Africa Property & Construction Cost Guide 2025/26 (p.57). These rates are current to 1 July 2025 and exclude VAT. We bring them up to date with an escalation factor (section 6). AECOM says they're “based on data received from Gauteng, where possible” and exclude site infrastructure, parking, escalation, interest, professional fees and VAT. AECOM also warns that rates per m² “are indicative only, and should be used circumspectly”. AECOM Africa Property & Construction Cost Guide 2025/26, p.57 (rates current to 1 July 2025, excl. VAT, Gauteng-based where possible)

2. Building types

• New house: AECOM “private dwelling houses”: economic, standard, middle-class and luxury.
• Extension / addition: AECOM doesn't publish an addition rate. We use the house rate × 1.20, i.e. 20% more per m² than a new house. This figure was set by the reviewing architect from his own projects, because tie-ins, demolition, roof junctions, waterproofing and matching existing finishes all add cost. It sits at the top of the 10–20% range quoted in public guides. Very small additions, kitchens, bathrooms and upper storeys can cost more again (one guide puts a second storey at 20–40% more than ground floor), so raise the rate for those. SA Property Tools building cost calculator, updated Oct 2026 (extensions ‘about 15% more’, ‘typically 10–15% more per m²’; contingency 10–15%) · Building Prices South Africa, House extension cost guide, updated June 2026 (‘extensions typically run about 10–20% higher than a fresh build’; second storey 20–40% more)
• Outbuilding: AECOM outbuildings, standard (R7,400) and luxury (R10,400). Economic and standard finishes use the standard rate; middle-class and luxury use the luxury rate.

3. Regional adjustment (Limpopo)

Current setting: Gauteng × 1.10 (Limpopo about 10% more). This is a cautious default, reviewed by the architect on 16 October 2026.

Why higher, not lower: building a house in Limpopo means getting the same bricks, cement, steel, roofing and windows to site. Most of these are made in or around Gauteng, or sold through regional hubs such as Polokwane, Makhado and Thohoyandou. Every extra kilometre adds fuel, driver time, handling and breakage, and rural deliveries are often smaller loads on gravel roads. Specialist items and trades may have to come from Gauteng altogether.

A real data point: stock clay bricks cost R4.95 each, incl. VAT and delivery, in Venda (architect's site data, October 2026). Published Gauteng prices for clay stock bricks are about R1.85 each incl. VAT (Brick Tile Shop, Pretoria) and R2.45 each incl. VAT and delivery (Union Bricks, minimum 10,000, valid to 31 Oct 2026). Like for like (both incl. VAT and delivery), a Venda brick costs about twice the Pretoria price, and up to 2.7 times the Pretoria yard price. Bricks are only part of the total cost, so the whole-building effect is much smaller than that. 1.10 is a cautious starting point. Architect's site data: stock clay bricks in Venda at R4.95 each (Meyer De Beer, October 2026; incl. VAT and delivery) · Union Bricks, Clay Stock Bricks: SABS clay stock bricks R2,450 per 1,000 incl. VAT and delivery to Pretoria/Centurion/Midrand/East Rand, min. 10,000, valid to 31 Oct 2026 · Brick Tile Shop (Pretoria): Clay Bricks (NFP) R1.85 each incl. VAT, delivery across Gauteng

Why some guides show Limpopo cheaper: ooba's provincial averages (Limpopo R9,600 vs Gauteng R15,000) don't publish their method or VAT basis. They probably reflect cheaper local labour and smaller, simpler homes, not the cost of the same specification far from suppliers our reading. ooba, 'What is the building cost per square meter in SA in 2026?' (citing Property Review; VAT basis not stated)

Next step: replace the 1.10 with a factor built from local tender and price data (bricks, cement, steel, roofing, delivery charges), checked by the reviewing architect, and publish it with its date.

4. VAT

VAT is 15%. We show building rates both excluding and including VAT. In the calculator, VAT is added to building, site works, any architect project management fee, professional fees, the council plan fee and contingency. Municipal fees are standard-rated for VAT, and Polokwane's tariffs are published excluding VAT. The NHBRC enrolment fee carries no VAT (the NHBRC deregistered for VAT in 2011), but it is worked out on a contract price that includes VAT. Service quotes (borehole, septic, Eskom) are entered as quoted, including VAT. SARS: standard VAT rate 15% · SARS VAT 419 Guide for Municipalities: from 1 July 2006 almost all municipal supplies are standard-rated, incl. building regulations activities, permits and inspection fees (Annexure A) · Polokwane Municipality approved tariffs 2026/27 (Provincial Gazette 3851, erratum, 7 Aug 2026), Schedule 12: building plan fees R32.63 per m² gross floor area, minimum R3,448.32, from 1 July 2026; ‘All charges exclude VAT’ · SANS10400.co.za, ‘NHBRC fees’: the NHBRC deregistered for VAT in 2011; enrolment fees carry no VAT (secondary source)

5. Costs beyond the building

• Delivery route. Contractor builds it (default): the AECOM-based rate is used as-is, with no builder fee, because tender rates already include the contractor's overheads and profit. Managed by an architect (the owner buys materials and labour direct): we remove the contractor's margin by dividing the rate by 1.15. Margins are normally a mark-up on cost, so dividing reverses it exactly, while × 0.85 would remove too much. The 15% margin is guess; you can edit it. We then add an architect project management fee of 15% (set by the reviewing architect) on the reduced building cost. With both at 15%, the building + fee comes back to the tender figure. The saving is in fees and contingency calculated on a lower base, and in better buying. The managed route needs far more owner involvement, and the risk (prices, delays, defects, site safety) sits with the owner. The normal NHBRC enrolment fee applies on both routes. On the managed route, the home is enrolled by ArkhiTekton Studio as the NHBRC-registered home builder, so no owner-builder exemption is needed.
• Professional fees: a separate line for the consultants you appoint. ooba's 2026 figures are architect up to 8%, structural engineer about 2%, quantity surveyor up to 4% and land surveyor up to 5% of construction cost. The default ticks the two appointments a typical house needs, architect and engineer, at those figures: 10%. Add the QS and land surveyor if you appoint them (all four: 19%). Both fees are calculated on the building cost. ooba, 'What it costs to build a house in SA in 2026' (architect up to 8%, land surveyor up to 5%, structural engineer ~2%, QS up to 4%)
• NHBRC enrolment: applies on both delivery routes (on the managed route, ArkhiTekton Studio enrols the home as the NHBRC-registered builder). The statutory sliding scale is applied to the contract price including VAT, as the NHBRC rules define “selling price”. We take that as building + site works (+ the project management fee on the managed route), plus VAT. Land is excluded here; if you buy a serviced stand together with the build, its price counts too. No VAT is added to the fee. NHBRC enrolment fee rules (Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, Rules, rule 2) · NHBRC Rules, rule 1: ‘selling price’ means … in the case of a building contract, the contract price, including VAT … together with the price at which the serviced erf has been acquired
• Council plan fees: default Polokwane 2026/27, R32.63/m² of gross floor area (minimum R3,448.32), excl. VAT; we add 15% VAT. Change it for your municipality. Polokwane Municipality approved tariffs 2026/27 (Provincial Gazette 3851, erratum, 7 Aug 2026), Schedule 12: building plan fees R32.63 per m² gross floor area, minimum R3,448.32, from 1 July 2026; ‘All charges exclude VAT’
• Rural services: Eskom 2026/27 minimum connection fee; Limpopo borehole price list; septic installation cost guide. Eskom 2026/27 Schedule of Standard Fees, Table 3(b) rural connection fees: Landlight 20A R10,900 incl. VAT; Landlight 60A R37,605 incl. VAT; 16 kVA single-phase R53,820 incl. VAT (minimum fees; line extensions extra) · Limpopo Boreholes price guide, checked 23 Sep 2026: drilling R290–R300/m; 40 m home borehole with casing, pump, 5,000 L tank and cover R36,690; 60 m complete R71,240 · Kandua septic tank installation cost guide: R25,000–R70,000, average ~R45,000
• Contingency: applied to building + site works. Default 15% for rural Limpopo sites, 10% for town and urban sites (set by the reviewing architect), because rural sites carry more unknowns: ground conditions, delivery delays and services. 10–15% is common advice, and first-time builders should use 15% anywhere. SA Property Tools building cost calculator, updated Oct 2026 (extensions ‘about 15% more’, ‘typically 10–15% more per m²’; contingency 10–15%)

6. Escalation and updates

The base rates date from 1 July 2025. We escalate them by 6.4%, so the rates are updated to August 2026. The factor is the change in Stats SA's contract price adjustment index for lump-sum domestic buildings (CPAP work group 180: 104.7 in July 2025, 111.4 in August 2026). That index tracks builders' labour, material and plant costs, excluding VAT. For comparison, construction materials alone rose 8.4%, while AECOM's BER-based tender-price forecast was +3.6% for 2026. Tender prices can lag costs when builders compete hard for work, so actual quotes may come in a little lower or higher. You can change the escalation in the calculator. Stats SA P0151.1 Construction Material Price Indices, August 2026 (released 30 Sep 2026), Table 1, CPAP work group 180 ‘lump sum domestic buildings’: Jul 2025 104.7 → Aug 2026 111.4 (+6.4%); total CIPI Jul 2025 105.2 → Aug 2026 114.0 (+8.4%). Indices exclude VAT · AECOM Cost Guide 2025/26, p.88: BER tender price index forecast +3.6% (Jan 2026) and +4.7% (Jan 2027)

From launch, the plan is to review the figures monthly against Stats SA releases, and annually when the new AECOM guide comes out. No figure is published until the reviewing architect has approved it. Each update will be dated and logged on this page.

7. What we never do

• We never publish any client's project figures. Site data (such as material prices) is used only as general market prices.
• Sponsors (if any, later) will never influence the rates, and will always be labelled.