GDV.calculator

Wales GDV Calculator and BCIS Build Cost

Wales build cost 1,393 to 1,806 £/sqm (BCIS estate housing quartiles rebased to Cardiff, 28 September 2026). GDV 230 to 410 £/sqft. LTT (not SDLT) changes the land-bid maths; Planning Policy Wales 12 governs viability.

BCIS build cost per sqm

  • Estate housing, lower quartile: 1,393 £/sqm
  • Estate housing, median: 1,574 £/sqm
  • Estate housing, upper quartile: 1,806 £/sqm
  • Flats, median: 1,843 £/sqm (quartiles 1,616 to 2,247)

BCIS figures rebased to Cardiff, as reprinted in Cardiff LDP Viability Testing, 2026 update (AP2.4) (Avison Young for Cardiff Council, 28 September 2026, page 19). BCIS figures taken 25 July 2026, rebased for Cardiff. Sample period not stated. BCIS rates are gross internal floor area, include preliminaries and exclude external works, fees, contingency and VAT. BCIS itself is subscription-only; this is the most recent public reprint we found for the region.

GDV working band

Resale GDV 230 to 410 £/sqft (low to high). Mid 290 £/sqft. Sense-check against current Land Registry Price Paid postcode-area aggregates before committing a bid.

LTT not SDLT changes the land bid; Cardiff and Swansea pull the average.

LTT on land

  • Land Transaction Tax (Welsh Revenue Authority) replaces SDLT in Wales.
  • Non-residential thresholds and rates differ; check the LTT calculator before final bid.

Planning Policy Wales 12

  • PPW12 viability test mirrors NPPF in principle but is administered by the Welsh Government.
  • Cardiff anchors the upper GDV band; Swansea and Newport pull the floor.

Open the workbench with these rates

Inputs
MAX LAND BID£22,140At 20% profit on cost, 9 units, 950 sqft GIA each.
MARGINAL
GDV£2,107,575
Build cost£1,250,261
Prof fees£150,031
s106/CIL/BNG£108,000
Contingency£113,122
Finance interest£115,526
Target profit£347,388
Total costs (excl land)£1,736,940
Senior debt @ LTGDV£1,369,924
PoC19.8%
PoGDV16.5%
LTC77.9%
Sensitivity (PoC %)
Build -5%Build +5%Build +10%Build +15%Build +20%
GDV -15%8%-1%-6%-9%-13%
GDV -10%15%4%-0%-4%-8%
GDV -5%20%10%5%1%-3%
GDV 0%19%16%11%7%2%
GDV +5%18%20%17%12%7%

Cells show profit-on-cost percentage at each GDV stress / build-cost shock pair. Cells below your target PoC turn amber-warm; cells below 10 percent abort.

BCIS (RICS Building Cost Information Service) £/m² study data· Subscription data. Regional £/sqm figures on this site are BCIS figures as reprinted in named council viability studies (BCIS data dated Nov 2024 to Jul 2026), each linked where it is usedAppraisal model reviewed by Oliver Wakefield-Smith (data integrity) with chartered-surveyor (MRICS) and CTA tax review. No affiliate links.