Spec Home vs Project Home vs Custom Home: Which Is Right for You?
Spec, project or custom: what's the difference?
A spec home is built before a buyer is found, so you buy it finished. A project home is chosen from a builder's catalogue of preset plans and built on your land. A custom home is designed from scratch for your household and your block. The spec home is the quickest way in; the custom home is the one that fits the site, which matters most on a sloping or view-facing block.
- Spec homefinished before you buy
- Project homea catalogue plan on your land
- Custom homedesigned for your block
- 9–18 monthsdesign to handover, custom
No catalogue plans: every CKS Projects home is designed for its site. A detailed fixed-price quote before you sign.
By Keiron Moore, Director of CKS Projects, with 25+ years building on the South Coast. Updated October 2026.
Important Disclaimer:
“This article is general guidance, not an exact price guide, guaranteed returns, or a substitute for professional advice or a formal quote. Construction costs, rental yields, and capital growth examples reflect 2025 conditions and will vary with site constraints, design, materials, and market movements. Speak with a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions. For accurate estimates and design recommendations for your site, contact CKS Projects. We’ll provide a comprehensive consultation and a formal quote tailored to your Wollongong custom home.”
Government charges are as published at the date shown and change over time.
Spec, project and custom homes explained
Spec home
Built speculatively by a builder or developer, to their own design and specification, then sold finished or nearly finished. Often sold with the land.
Project home
Chosen from a volume builder's range of preset plans, usually seen in a display home, then adjusted at the edges and built on your land.
Custom home
Designed from scratch for one household and one site, then built. The layout responds to the slope, orientation, light and views.
Spec home vs project home vs custom home
| Spec home | Project home | Custom home | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the plan comes from | The builder or developer's choice | A range of preset plans, adjusted at the edges | Designed from scratch for your household and site |
| How it fits the land | Already built | The site is prepared to suit the plan | The plan responds to slope, orientation, light and views |
| Changes you can make | Finishes at most | Limited, within the catalogue | Everything, before the price is fixed |
| Seeing it before it's built | You see the finished house | Display homes | 3D renders and a walk-through of your own design |
| Who you deal with | A sales agent | Often a sales consultant, then a site supervisor | With CKS Projects, the builder: Keiron Moore runs site assessments personally |
| Time to move in | At settlement, if finished | The build time after approval | 9–18 months from design to handover for most CKS homes |
| Transfer duty | On the house and land | Depends on how the land and build contracts are set up | Depends on how the land and build contracts are set up |
Transfer duty: Revenue NSW ruling DUT 018 treats a house and land package that delivers a completed house as a transfer of improved land. Check your own contracts with a conveyancer.
What each costs, and where the money goes
Any new home is priced on the same drivers: floor area, finish level, storeys and the site. The type of home changes where the money goes, not the rules.
- Finish level: CKS Projects' guide ranges are $2,000–$2,400 per m² for a basic finish, $2,400–$2,800 for mid-range and $3,000–$3,800 for premium.
- Site works: about $10,000–$20,000 on a flat block, $40,000–$70,000 on a moderate slope and $80,000–$120,000 on a steep one. A plan drawn for a flat site makes the block do the work. See sloping block house designs.
- Complexity: complex shapes, multiple roof lines and extensive glazing add 15–25% to construction, whichever kind of home it is.
- The land: a spec home's price includes land, a margin for the developer and the work already done. With a project or custom home you buy or already own the land and build on it.
For full budgets, see what a house costs to build in NSW and the cheapest way to build.
Which one suits you?
| If you... | Look at |
|---|---|
| Need to move in soon and the right house is already built in the right street | A spec home |
| Have a flat, regular block and like a plan you've seen in a display home | A project home |
| Have a sloping, narrow, coastal or view-facing block | A custom home: see sloping block builders and coastal home builders |
| Want to stay on land you already own and replace the house | A knockdown rebuild, usually custom |
| Want the layout, light and finishes designed around how you live | A custom home |
How CKS Projects designs and prices a custom home
CKS Projects doesn't work from a catalogue: every home is designed for the block it sits on.
Consultation
An in-depth conversation about your ideas, needs, style and what your land offers.
Planning and design
A plan that makes the most of your land, views and lifestyle, from natural light to finishes.
3D renders and walk-through
Check the layout, room sizes and design details before anything is built.
Selections and fixed price
Finishes are chosen with specialist support, and you receive a detailed fixed-price quote before signing a contract.
Approvals and construction
CKS Projects manages the DA or CDC, then builds with its own carpenters.
More on custom home builders in Wollongong and the advantages of a custom-built home. Prefer a proven layout? See new home building. Before you sign, compare fixed price and cost plus contracts.
Spec vs custom home FAQs
What is a spec home?
A spec (speculative) home is built by a builder or developer before a buyer is found, to a design and specification they choose. You buy it finished, or nearly finished, usually with the land.
What is the difference between a custom home and a project home?
A project home is chosen from a builder's range of preset plans and adjusted at the edges. A custom home is designed from scratch for one household and one site, so the layout responds to the slope, orientation, light and views.
Is a custom home more expensive than a spec or project home?
Not by default. Floor area, finish level and the site drive the price of any home: CKS Projects' guide ranges run from $2,000–$2,400 per m² for a basic finish to $3,000–$3,800 for premium. On a sloping block a custom design can cost less in site works, because the plan follows the land instead of the land being cut to suit the plan.
Why do catalogue homes cost more on a sloping block?
A catalogue plan is usually drawn for a flat site, so the block is prepared to suit the plan. On CKS Projects' figures, site works run about $10,000–$20,000 on a flat block, $40,000–$70,000 on a moderate slope and $80,000–$120,000 on a steep one.
Is a spec home faster than building a custom home?
Yes, if it's finished: you can move in at settlement. A custom home takes around 9–18 months from design to handover for most CKS Projects homes, including about 3–6 months of design, approvals and pre-construction.
Do you pay more stamp duty on a spec home?
When you buy a completed home, transfer duty is charged on the house and land. Revenue NSW also treats a house and land package where you receive a completed house on settlement as a transfer of improved land. How duty applies when you buy land and sign a separate building contract depends on how the contracts are set up, so check with your conveyancer.
Can I change the design of a spec home?
Usually not once it's built, apart from finishes or later renovations. A project home allows limited changes to a preset plan. A custom home is designed around you from the start.
Can I get a fixed price on a custom home?
Yes. CKS Projects designs your home, you choose the finishes with specialist support, and you receive a detailed fixed-price quote before signing a contract.
Start with your block
Tell us about your land and how you want to live. We'll talk it through for free, design the home for your site and give you a fixed price before you sign.
