Depends on what you are building and where. I'm a property developer and the contract prices for my current projects are as follows, the unit costs include external works like parking, swimming pool etc:

Luxury apartments and duplexes:48,450 (contract awarded march 2010)
Standard finish apartments:32,700 (contract awarded june 2010)
Standard finish apartments:32,000 (contract awarded march 2011)

It also depends on who the contractor is, for my latest project I got a mid-sized contractor and negotiated a better price than what i got last year from a bigger contractor.

I have an office block which is currently under tendering, so will know the price range for office blocks in around a week, though i paid around 35000 for an office block in 2008.

Also looking to build in the near future, and it would be quite useful to know some of these contractors you refer to, if you don't mind, so we can shop around and get quotes too!

@Vj,
could give more infor. especially on the luxury apts... the reason i ask for more is that 48,450/- per sqm may mean different things in a 5mX5mroom, for example are all the rooms ensuite? and how many rooms? this i believe will give a clear est as opposded to a 5mX5m room with no extras e.g Bath but with high end finishing...

@Pablo,
If you were to cost your man hours, i.e. in the way of opportunity cost, how would you cost it?

Completed 8 3Br bungalows (110Sqm) at 21,543,180.20. Additional costs such as more driveway, professional costs and common areas were higher. This was self-build but the man hours obviously were much more. Initially had tendered but lowest bid came at 26.5m.

Something seriously wrong with our contracting system in Kenya.

@Siafu: the tender is opening on Thursday so will let you know of the outcome.

@earthvoice: I don't think it would be fair for me to give out details about contractors on a public forum, however if you provide me with your e.mail i would be glad to share them with you.

@Matatamingi: it should cost you between 20000-25000 for a stand alone bungalow, this cost is for a well finished bungalow i.e imported tiles, pitched stone finish etc.

@SAC Cohen: The luxury apartments are around 325sqm, 4 bedroom all ensuite, with german bathrooms (Hansgrohe) and kitchens (Nobilia). Spanish tiles in the common areas, a choice of floor finishes for the main apartment, decorative paints and so on. external amenities include: large swimming pool, party hall, 3 parking's per apartment, integrated security system, elevators, generator, borehole etc. The price seems high but i think its justified given the high quality of finishes e.g a single toilet set costs around 75,000. For this particular project i've sold all the units for between 35-50M, but trust me convincing someone to buy an apartment for the price of a bungalow is one of the most challenging tasks i've ever encountered.

@ Pablo: Your figure seems low for standard finishes, but maybe you can pull it off. I've partnered with one of my former employee's to build low cost homes in athi river and he manages the construction himself, we are getting a construction cost about 15,000 (this doesn't include any external works). But the quality is way inferior to what i call standard i.e wavy palster, use of second grade tiles, walls not following a straight path etc. There is no way i can give such quality to someone paying 16-18 M for an apartment. Thus if you want quality you have to pay for it, and my standard apartments have things like elevators, swimming pool, borehole, pitched stone external finishes, aluminium windows, Hwangsung wardrobes and kitchens. With all this its very easy for the price to climb to 32000 per sqm.

@Vj
Very insighful. Have you considered (or undertaken) a gated community project, with the usual say 4 br ensuite (finishes indicated earlier) , with each unit on a 1/2 acre? If yes, were the costs the same as the luxury apts per sqm?

@earthvoice and nostopingthis i've sent you e.mails.

@SAC Cohen: I did town house projects a few years back, each house was on 1/8 of an acre, 5 bedrooms (3 en-suite), built up area was coming to around 375 sqm. The cost at that time was slightly higher than that of apartments (difference of between 500-750 per sqm).

In gated communities it would be better to make each house on a 1/4 acre than 1/2 an acre, as the percentage profit is higher when using 1/4 of an acre. If we consider an area like Karen and say you get the 1/2 acre at 15 M, build a 400 sqm house at a cost of say 35,000 which translates to 14M(i've taken 35,000 as the cost as there is likely to be a lot of external works like boundary wall, driveways, landscaping and the finishes mus also be good). The cost at this point is 29M, now to add on consultant fees of 7.5%, leaves the cost at 31M . Currently houses in karen are going for around 40M, so you are likely to make a profit of around 8M (Removed 1M for miscellaneous expenses).

Now if we consider 1/4 acre plots in the same area, the land would cost 7.5 M, build a 400 sqm house at a cost of say 32,000 which translates to 12.8M(The cost would fall as less external work needs to be done). The cost at this point is 20.3M, now to add on consultant fees of 7.5%, leaves the cost at 21M . You could sell that house for 30M still making a profit of around 8M (again removed 1M for miscellaneous expenses).

Using 1/4 acre plots gives you the same return as 1/2 acre but and requires less investment.

thank you! saw your email. will respond...

@Vj, SAC Cohen, your discussions have been very insightful indeed, and Vj your openness is much appreciated :)

On another related topic that I'm starting elsewhere is the issue of JVs between a landowner and contractor/architect consortium, where the landowner is the developer and puts up the land to build 4 houses jointly with the consortium.

Kindly take a peek at that topic and let me know your thoughts if you're inclined...

Thanks again.