How much should you budget
for a passive house?
An honest guide from Marvel Homes, Sydney's certified passive house builder. We work with budgets from $900K to $2M+.
The honest answer: it depends on your site.
Any builder who gives you a per-square-metre rate without reviewing your site and brief is guessing. Marvel Homes does not provide ballpark figures before we have reviewed the survey, planning controls, and your brief. New to the standard? Start with what a passive house is.
What Marvel Homes builds for.
Compact footprint, standard site, CDC approval
Moderate site complexity, 3–4 bed, quality specification
Sloping site, large footprint, premium finishes
Complex sites, large briefs, full PHI certification
What the passive house premium buys you.
A certified passive house typically costs 15 to 20% more to build than a standard home of the same size. That premium covers:
- Continuous insulation with no thermal bridges
- Double-glazed windows (included, not an upgrade)
- Airtightness detailing at every junction, tested by blower door
- Heat recovery ventilation system (HRV)
- PHPP energy modelling and PHI certification
In return, you dramatically reduce the home's heating and cooling demand, cut energy bills by around 80%, and build a home that stays comfortable with minimal active management for the full life of the building.
For the full rate guide with bands by house size and site complexity, see Passive House cost Sydney. Independent standards are published by the Australian Passivhaus Association.
Ready to get a realistic rate range for your site?
See how we build