Everything you need to know about NSW’s Housing Pattern Book
Written by David Lovato – CPC Lending Solutions
August 2025
In an effort to fast-track new housing and tackle New South Wales’ affordability crisis, the state government has launched the NSW Housing Pattern Book – a collection of architect-designed plans available for as little as $1 per design, complete with a streamlined approval pathway.
What is the Housing Pattern Book?
The Pattern Book features eight architect-designed templates for terraces, townhouses, semis and manor homes. These are the “missing middle” housing types that bridge the gap between detached houses and high-rise apartments.
The designs were created by respected architects and are standardised for efficiency, yet adaptable to different site conditions and client preferences, including varying room formations and layouts.
These designs are backed by the NSW Low and Mid-Rise Housing Policy which encourages development particularly near town centres and transport hubs.
The state government says these designs can be approved via a Complying Development Certificate (CDC) in as little as 10 days, cutting months off the traditional development application process.
What does the Housing Pattern Book include?
The Pattern Book offers ready-made designs and quick approval times, but it is not a full-service solution. You’ll still need:
- Site-specific engineering
- Energy assessments
- Bushfire, soil or flood adaptations
- Compliance sign-off and construction documentation
And while it reduces red tape, it also does not address high land costs, labour shortages or rising prices of building materials – all factors impacting housing delivery in the state.
What does a home from the Housing Pattern Book cost?
The plans are currently available for $1 until January 2026, after which they’ll be priced at $1,000. The state government said this is considerably lower than the upwards of $20,000 developers and investors typically spend on custom architecturally designed homes.
But the bigger question is how much will they cost to build?
According to Rider Levett Bucknall, residential construction costs in Sydney in 2025 range from $2,500 to $7,600 per square metre. With Pattern Book home sizes ranging from 90 to 140 sqm, that puts base build costs somewhere between:
- $225,000 to $350,000 (lower range)
- $684,000 to $1.06 million (upper range)
These ranges exclude the cost of land. The Urban Development Institute of Australia found the average cost of a vacant lot in Greater Sydney was $666,670 in 2025.
The above costs also exclude site-specific modifications, compliance documents and construction certificates. But it provides a baseline. The standardised design and construction methodology could help keep costs down, especially if developers can build at scale.
While the government hasn’t put a specific price on the build cost of these homes, a government official told The Guardian that using the pattern book could result in construction cost savings of 5% to 17% compared to other non-pattern book designs.
What does the Housing Pattern Book mean for securing finance?
From a financing perspective, the most powerful benefit of the Pattern Book is the reduction in time and uncertainty. By offering pre-approved designs and a fast-tracked approval pathway, the Pattern Book brings a level of predictability that has direct financial benefits, including:
- Potentially lower holding costs from faster approvals
- More accurate feasibility assessments due to predictable input costs
- Improved cash flow from lower upfront design costs
- Easier comparisons of builders’ quotes thanks to the standardised designs
For lenders, this increased certainty is a big plus. When the design, planning pathway and cost inputs are largely known upfront, it can be easier to assess project risk and funding requirements. That can improve confidence in the numbers, reduce the back-and-forth during loan assessment and, ultimately, make it faster and simpler to secure finance.
Headline image: Terraces 01 by Carter Williamson, one of the eight approved designs. Credit: planning.nsw.gov.au
CPC Lending Solutions is a property development and residential finance specialist. Whether you’re a developer needing funding for land, construction, or residual stock, or a buyer looking for the right mortgage, we’re here to help. Contact us at info@crowdpropertycapital.com.au or fill in this form.
