Spec Build Finance Guide
Everything you need to know about funding a turnkey or spec build in New Zealand.
Buyers increasingly prefer a finished turnkey home over signing a construction contract — and that shifts the risk onto the builder. You hold more of the project on your balance sheet, need more equity to carry construction, and have settlement exposure on the land. Getting the funding structure right is what makes spec builds work.
This guide pulls together what we’ve learned helping builders fund spec and turnkey projects across New Zealand — from sites in the main centres through to the regions. Read to the end for a Rolleston duplex we funded within three days.
What’s inside
- Why buyers prefer turnkey — and what that means for builders
- How to buy a site, including builder’s terms
- Construction cost thresholds and m² rates: how lenders set them and why
- Releasing equity progressively through the build
- Choosing the right lender, and managing concentration risk across projects
- Leverage, finance costs, and capitalised vs serviced interest
- Where non-bank lenders can save you money (and where they can’t)
- What to include in your spec build finance application
- Worked case study: a Rolleston duplex, funded in three days
Who this is for
Building company owners moving from contract work into spec or turnkey builds, and any builder looking to scale the pipeline without being capped by their own equity.
Written by Ben Pauley, Director at Lateral Partners — 10+ years in property and development finance, with a panel of 140+ funders across New Zealand.