The Otago figure is underpinned by the high cost to build in the Queenstown Lakes area.
Otago and Auckland rarely have any housing comparisons, either by value, volumes or percentages, but for the year to August, Otago has the highest regional average cost to build at $396,000 and Auckland at $390,000, according to Statistics New Zealand.
SNZ business indicators senior manager Neil Kelly said the data came from building consents issued, but were estimates only, and he cautioned that in practice the actual cost to build was usually at least 10% higher.
''The number of homes we're building is lower than in the mid-1970s, but we're building more in terms of total floor area.
''Consented homes nowadays are over 60% bigger than they were in the 1970s,'' he said in a statement yesterday.
The high Otago costs were driven by homes in the Queenstown-Lakes district, where the average cost was $445,000.
Auckland had a higher cost per square metre than Otago, but a smaller average dwelling size, Mr Kelly said.
The lowest average regional costs were in the West Coast, at $274,000, and Wellington, at $284,000. Wellington's low average was due to a higher proportion of apartments and retirement village units being consented.
In the North Island, the district with the lowest average cost for building a home was Kawerau at $200,000 and in the South Island, it was the Grey district at $252,000.
Values include GST, but not fees and land prices.
