For home builders
More new home enquiries, straight from your website
Put a new home budget estimator on your website. Clients enter the floor area, storeys, basement and garage, choose a finish level and see a first planning budget in a couple of minutes. You get the call from people whose plans fit what you build.
Customers want a price before they call
of new-home owners named competitive pricing as a top factor in choosing their builder.
Source: Mower survey of new-home owners, via Builder magazine, Feb 2023of new-home owners used search engines to research potential builders.
Source: Mower survey of new-home owners, via Builder magazine, Feb 2023more likely to qualify a lead when you contact them within an hour of their online enquiry.
Source: Harvard Business Review, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads”, 2011Turn website visitors into build contracts
More calls from people ready to build
People planning a home want a rough number before they talk to anyone. A first budget on your website gives them a reason to call you.
Fewer first meetings that go nowhere
Clients see a planning budget before they book, so the ones who sit down with you already know what their plans cost.
Budgets while you're on site
Families plan their homes at night and on weekends. Your website gives them a first budget then, and the enquiry is waiting in the morning.
Enquiries with the plans described
Floor area, storeys, basement, garage, lot, services and the finish level they liked arrive with every lead.
Show what the next finish level adds
Standard, Upgraded and Luxury side by side lets clients see the step up in plain numbers, so the upgrade conversation starts early.
Your rates, your rules
Your rates per square foot, your allowances and your finish levels. Lots and services you don't price go to a meeting instead of a guess.
Estimators for every kind of project you build
Start with the ready-made new home build template, then add estimators for the other work you do.
New home build
Budgets per square foot by finish level, with storeys, basement, garage, lot slope and water and sewer.
Home additions
Rear or second-storey additions priced per square foot, with a tie-in charge for joining the existing house.
Garages and garden suites
Detached garages and backyard suites by size and finish level, with servicing as an extra.
Basement developments
Finishing an unfinished basement per square foot, with bedrooms, a bathroom and egress windows as extras.
Decks and covered porches
Price per square foot by material, with railings, stairs and a roof over the porch as add-ons.
Custom home planning visit
A simple estimator that sorts out the project type and budget range, then asks for an assessment.
The new home estimator, as your clients see it
New home or addition, finished floor area (with “I don't know”), storeys, basement and its area, garage, lot (with “I don't know”), and water and sewer for new homes.
Try it as a customer would
Fictional business and sample prices. Preliminary estimate based on the answers; final pricing follows an assessment.
What you control
- Rates per square foot for each finish level, plus design, permits and site setup.
- Basements priced per square foot, finished or unfinished, asked only when there is one.
- Garages by size and finish level, and a tie-in charge for additions.
- Storeys and sloped lots as percentages of the construction charges only.
- Allowances and assessment stops, such as well and septic, or steep and rocky lots.
What stays with your design meetings
The estimator gives a planning budget, not a quote. Plans, soils, servicing costs and the client's selections all change the final price. The estimate states its assumptions and rounds to the nearest $1,000 so nobody mistakes it for a contract figure.
What your office receives
When you choose to collect contact details, the enquiry includes the floor area, storeys, basement, garage, lot and the budget the client saw.
- What are you building?
- A new home
- Finished floor area above ground
- 2150 sqft
- Number of storeys
- 2 storeys
- Basement
- Unfinished basement
- Basement area
- 1100 sqft
- Attached garage
- Double
- The building lot
- Flat
- Water and sewer
- Municipal water and sewer
Fictional example. Your estimator decides whether to ask for contact details.
Home builder questions
Isn't a new home too complex for an online estimate?
For a contract price, yes. This is a first budget so clients know which finish level fits their plans. The wording says so, and the numbers are rounded to the nearest $1,000.
What if the client doesn't know the floor area yet?
They can choose “I don't know”, and the estimate asks for a meeting so you can work from their plans or sketches.
Can it budget additions as well as new homes?
Yes. Additions use the same rates plus a tie-in charge for joining the existing house, and the water and sewer question is skipped. You can set separate rates if your additions cost more per square foot.
How are rural lots handled?
Well and septic adds a fixed allowance you set. Gently sloped lots add a percentage of the construction charges, and steep, rocky or hard-to-reach lots go to an assessment.
Getting it on your website
Build, test and publish your first estimator free, for as long as you like. Unlimited estimators are $35 a month in the US or $45 CAD in Canada (pricing). Add it to your website with a short embed code, or share a hosted link.
More serious build enquiries start with a budget on your website.
Your first estimator is free on your website, with everything included. Unlimited estimators are $35 a month in the US or $45 CAD in Canada.