Thanks for your quick replies

. How expensive is it to get water/plumbing, phone electricity etc connected to a new block?

Last we investigated it - it was around $30 000 for all of it.
Thanks Arimeh i was guessing it'd be about that. Do you know how i would find this out for sure? Do i check with counsil?

what sort of house do you want to build? a kit home or a strawbale house might come within your budget - it all depends what you want.
rayray i had a look online at a few kit home companies and it looks as though i'd be paying around $55,000 and upwards for a basic 3bedder... does anyone know how much the builders charge?
I found a few sites that sell pre built houses that they deliver the block of land but i'm not sure if it would be cheaper to just get builders in to build on site????

Argggh there's so much to think about. Part of me thinks it'd be a good idea to build and i get excited with the idea of a brand spanking new home but then i know theres so much red tape/setbacks/extra costs that i'm not sure if we'd be digging our own grave IYKWIM.
Can anyone tell me how long it takes to have a house built?
Also does anyone know how much clearing/preparing the site costs? eg levelling the ground and clearing trees etc

ta!