What will it actually cost to build?
Not a per-square-foot guess. This runs the same cost stack we use on live projects — trades, design and permits, management, contingency, escalation and the cost of construction financing. Change anything, as many times as you like, and watch the number move.
1 · The house
Enter finished areas as they appear on the plan. Not every space costs the same to build, so each one is counted at its real share of a finished floor — a garage is not a kitchen.
Garage
2 · Level of finish
Each level changes the cost of the trades. Watch the construction cost per ft² in the panel move as you switch between them.
3 · Specify the build
Choose only what you actually want. Each item carries its own real cost — nothing is bundled into a vague "luxury" tier.
Structure & envelope
Energy
Choose the full energy package — geothermal, solar and heat-recovery ventilation — and the panel shows your estimated monthly saving on the utility bills. Pair it with the ICF structure, triple glazing and envelope upgrade above for the deepest cut.
Mechanical
Interior
Site & servicing
4 · Land & financing
1 · The building
Five questions. Everything else — floor areas, common space, the financing structure — is worked out from these.
How many units?
What kind of suite?
Laundry in each unit?
2 · Energy performance
This is the lever that matters. Building better than code costs more up front, but it earns CMHC MLI Select points — and points buy a longer amortization, a lower insurance premium and up to 95% financing. That is usually worth far more than the extra build cost.
—
3 · Upgrades
A short list. The affordability commitment is the usual companion to energy points — it costs rent but it is what gets most small projects to the 70-point tier.
Energy performance and geothermal/ICF also lower the building's operating costs, which lifts net income and the return below.
What sits behind the number
| Two yardsticks, one cost. Livable-equivalent area converts every space to its share of a finished floor — a garage counts as half, a covered deck as a third, an indoor pool room as 1.8×. Total area is simply everything added up. The cost per ft² differs; the building does not. | Area |
| Bigger builds cost less per foot. Kitchens, mechanical plant, service connections and site set-up barely change with size, so they spread thinner. At the same finish and the same mix of spaces, a 3,000 ft² house runs roughly 12.5% under a 1,500 ft² house. Rental works the same way — one foundation, one roof, one set of services, more units on top, and the land cost does not move at all. | Scale |
| Construction cost is the trades only. Design, engineering and permits add 8%. Our management fee is charged on the trades — not on soft costs or financing. Contingency 4%, escalation 2%, construction finance carry ≈6.7%. | Stack |
| HST. Custom homes net of rebate at an effective 12%. New purpose-built rental of four or more self-contained units currently qualifies for a full federal rebate, mirrored by Ontario — shown as $0. | Tax |
| CMHC MLI Select. Five units minimum. 50 / 70 / 100 points buy a 40 / 45 / 50-year amortization and a 10 / 20 / 30% premium discount at up to 95% of cost. Energy earns 20, 35 or 50 points for building 20%, 25% or 40% better than code; it caps at 50, so most projects add an affordability commitment for the other 50. Minimum coverage 1.10. | Financing |
| Cash you bring. The mortgage covers the loan-to-cost percentage the points earn (up to 95% under CMHC, 80% for a financed home, 75% conventional). The rest is your cash — before land transfer tax, legal and lender fees, which vary and are not included. For rental, the CMHC premium is added to the loan, not to your cash. | Cash |
| Energy & savings. On a home, the full energy package — geothermal, solar and heat-recovery ventilation — is modelled to cut roughly two-thirds off a code-built home's utility bills; the estimate scales with the finished floor area and is indicative only, not a guaranteed bill. On a rental, better energy performance and geothermal/ICF lower the operating-cost ratio, which raises net operating income and every return below. | Energy |
| Rental returns. 3% vacancy; operating costs start at 35% and fall with energy performance (to about 29% at the top tier with geothermal and ICF). Long-term projections grow rents and costs 2.5% a year and values 3%. | Returns |
Planning-grade range, not a quotation — roughly ±10% on a conventional site. Rates are benchmarked against the Altus Group 2026 Canadian Cost Guide, which puts Ottawa costs at $500–$1,000 per ft² for custom single-family and $230–$290 per ft² for wood-framed multi-unit up to six storeys. Those published figures are all-in developer numbers that include a builder’s markup, profit and marketing; the open-book model carries none of those, so the construction cost shown here sits below the headline ranges by design — you pay the trades, plus our fee, and nothing else. Scale effects follow NAHB research on economies of scale in single-family construction. Ground conditions, servicing and design complexity move real numbers; rents and growth rates are assumptions to test against your own evidence. CMHC program terms and premium rates change and eligibility is decided by CMHC and your lender, not by this page. Not financial, mortgage or tax advice.
Want this checked by a person?
We will run your numbers against our live cost basis and send back a written estimate with the assumptions spelled out — no obligation, no sales call unless you ask for one.