Cost bands for a new build
| Level | Indicative cost per m2 (turnkey) | What it covers in practice |
|---|---|---|
| Structural shell | EUR 800 - 1,000 | Structure, roof, envelope, no services or finishes |
| Advanced shell | EUR 1,000 - 1,300 | Shell plus service rough-ins, plaster, screeds |
| Budget | EUR 1,300 - 1,600 | Standard finishes, standard services, code-level energy performance |
| Mid-range | EUR 1,600 - 2,000 | Good-quality finishes, external insulation and performing windows |
| High-end | EUR 2,000 - 2,500 and above | Premium finishes, home automation, advanced systems |
Three reading caveats, valid for every table in this cluster. First: the figures cover the construction cost only, excluding land (typically 20-30 per cent of the overall budget), municipal fees and professional costs (10-15 per cent). Second: the reference floor area changes the numbers; a cost per m2 computed on gross saleable area is lower than the same cost on net usable area, as explained in the article on how to calculate cost per m2. Third: location shifts the bands by as much as 20-30 per cent between north and south, a topic developed in the article on north-south cost differences.
The detached house: the base case
The detached house is the reference type of the private market and the most searched. Its cost per m2 is structurally higher than an apartment building's: no economies of scale, a heat-losing envelope on every side, foundations and roof spread over few square metres. For a 100 m2 turnkey house at mid-range level, a reasonable construction budget sits between EUR 180,000 and 250,000, excluding land.
An example breakdown for a EUR 220,000 budget (110 m2, mid-range). The percentages vary little between projects of similar size.
| Item | Typical share | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Structure and building works | 45% | EUR 99,000 |
| Services (electrical, heating, plumbing, MVHR) | 25% | EUR 55,000 |
| Finishes (floors, windows, bathrooms) | 30% | EUR 66,000 |
The article on the cost of building a detached house develops the complete case, with the trade-level detail and the variables that move the estimate; for those targeting the passive standard, the extra cost and payback times are analysed in the article on passive house costs. It also carries the bands by level of finish.
The apartment building: economies of scale
In an apartment building the cost per m2 drops markedly compared with the detached house: current bands start around EUR 700-900 per m2 for the shell and sit between EUR 1,200 and 1,800 per m2 for a finished building of current standard, decreasing as floors and units increase. The reasons are structural: foundations and roof spread over several floors, services that can be centralised, a more efficient site. In exchange, items absent from the detached house appear: stair and lift core, common areas, fire safety above certain thresholds. The full picture, including the size threshold beyond which the economies fade, is in the article on the cost of building an apartment building.
The timber prefab: fixed budget, shorter schedule
The prefabricated timber or CLT house is by now a mature segment of Italian residential construction, with turnkey bands typically between EUR 1,500 and 2,400 per m2 depending on level: not necessarily cheaper than traditional construction at equal performance, but with two concrete negotiating advantages, a contractually locked price and site times cut in half. Items outside the supplier's package (foundations, utility connections, external works) are the classic trap of comparisons: the article on prefab house costs lines them up with a like-for-like comparison against traditional building.
A complete worked example: from cost per m2 to the real budget
A 120 m2 house, mid-range at EUR 1,800 per m2, in a medium-cost area. The example runs from construction cost to the budget for the operation.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Construction cost | 120 m2 × EUR 1,800 | EUR 216,000 |
| Professional fees and design (10%) | 216,000 × 0.10 | EUR 21,600 |
| Municipal fees and building contribution (estimate) | per municipality | EUR 12,000 |
| Site contingencies (10%) | 216,000 × 0.10 | EUR 21,600 |
| Total excluding land | EUR 271,200 |
The real total exceeds the simple area-times-rate product by 25 per cent: that is the systematically underestimated difference between construction cost and project budget. With land (20-30 per cent of the whole), the operation approaches EUR 350,000-390,000.
Note: the figures shown are 2026 orders of magnitude for the Italian market, for guidance only. Every project requires a specific estimate based on a bill of quantities and up-to-date regional price books.