Every rate starts from a Gauteng-anchored base and is multiplied by a factor for the province, derived from ooba’s 2025/26 provincial build-cost table. The same building is therefore a fixed percentage dearer or cheaper from one province to the next:

Western Cape+13%
KwaZulu-Natal+11%
Gautengbase
Free State−15%
Eastern Cape−18%
Northern Cape−21%
Mpumalanga−31%
Limpopo−36%
North West−39%

A rate per m² is the right tool for deciding whether a project is worth pursuing and for setting a first budget. It is the wrong tool for signing a building contract. Once there is a design, ask a quantity surveyor for an elemental estimate, and once there are drawings and a specification, get the work priced from a bill of quantities or from detailed quotes. Each step narrows the range.

The factor captures regional differences in labour, materials and demand on average. It does not capture the site itself, which is why each city page also sets out the local conditions, such as dolomite in Gauteng or coastal corrosion in Durban, that move a real project away from the average.

How to read these figures

Each city page gives a low-to-high range per square metre for eight building types: a standard house, a luxury house, a townhouse complex, a flat or apartment block, a warehouse, an office building, a retail shop and a school. The range is the building cost only. VAT, professional fees, land, municipal plan fees and bulk contributions sit on top of it.

Use the low end for a plain specification on a flat, accessible site. Move towards the high end for heavier finishes, difficult ground or a remote site where materials and labour travel further.

From a rate to a budget

Multiply the rate by the gross floor area to get a first number. The building cost calculator does that for you by province. Once there is a sketch plan, split the budget by element with the elemental estimate, and when a bill of quantities exists, price it line by line in the BoQ pricer.