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Planning & Process5 min read
How Long Does a Residential Build Actually Take
The construction phase is often the shortest part of a residential project. The design and approval process is where time is spent — and where financial timing decisions go wrong.
Most clients expect a residential project to take 12 to 18 months from decision to move-in. The reality, for a project with any design complexity, is typically 24 to 36 months or longer.
The stages most clients underestimate
- Pre-design and briefing — 1 to 3 months
- Concept and schematic design — 2 to 4 months
- Design development — 2 to 4 months
- Development Approval — 3 to 6 months or longer. Council timeframes cannot be compressed.
- Construction documentation — 2 to 4 months
- Tender — 4 to 8 weeks
- Contract execution and pre-construction — 4 to 8 weeks
- Construction — 6 to 18 months depending on project scale
The financial timing risk
The most common financial mistake is committing to a date — ending a lease, selling an existing home — based on an optimistic timeline. Build in more buffer than you think you need.
Already feeling the budget pressure?
If your project has drifted beyond budget, realignment can bring it back.
We help homeowners, architects and developers recover cost and buildability without losing the design they set out to build.