If you ask two Sydney homeowners how much they were charged for plumbing call out you’ll likely get two different answers for the same plumbing invoice and job with the same parts used and the same hour spent! That’s not random. One of the most important—and unspoken—charges that a tradie offers is their location.
A study of over 40,000 tradie quotes submitted by professionals over the course of an entire financial year by ServiceSeeking.com.au shows that hiring a tradie in Sydney’s inner city, eastern suburbs and the north shore can be as much as 49 per cent more expensive than hiring the same tradie in western Sydney. That’s an awful lot of distance. On a $500 job, it’s the choice between paying $500 and paying closer to $750.
There are several pockets that will cost more than others, and if you understand the reasons, you’ll be better equipped to plan your budget, ask the right questions when you are seeking a quote and you’ll avoid paying more than you should.
The number of dollars the suburb is cheaper than the city
This trend is evident in cost guides which monitor advertised electrician rates around Sydney. However, the hourly rates in suburbs facing the north shore of Sydney, such as Chatswood, Mosman and elsewhere, often follow a more similar pattern, being generally higher on the north shore; Northern Beaches suburbs such as Manly, Dee Why and the like are also similar.
That is a stark contrast to tradespeople in western Sydney suburbs like Parramatta, Auburn or Blacktown, where the same trades are routinely advertised for less than the same job.
This isn’t a one-off finding either. Several independent pricing guides, which are created from tradie marketplace information, rate surveys conducted by the industry and publicly posted quotes, all consistently show that the most expensive rates in the capital city are 10-20 percent higher than the rates in the outer-metro and regional areas, and the most expensive suburbs are the furthest above the average.
Why the more affluent suburbs pay more
There’s no single reason for this. It’s a combination of real cost-shifters and straightforward market dynamics.
Overheads go with the tradie and not the job. Commercial rent, storage and vehicle prices are cheaper in Sydney’s outer suburbs, attracting many tradies to this part of the city.
If they drive into the north shore, eastern suburbs or northern beaches for a job, then that travel time and fuel is included in the quote. If the callout does occur in a suburb 40 minutes from a tradie’s depot, it will almost always cost more than a callout five minutes from the depot.
Demand for renovations is greater in older, higher-priced neighborhoods. Older, larger homes create more bathroom renovations, electrical improvements and roof projects, just because there are more older homes and they are of value to invest in. If there is more demand than there are tradies in that area, then prices go up.
There’s also the perception of having the ability to pay. However, industry comment on the ServiceSeeking data noted that tradies may keep in mind what the market is willing to pay for the job rather than its actual cost, when quoting jobs in the higher dollar suburbs. It’s not always the case, there are plenty of tradies out there that charge a fair price, regardless of what their postcode is, but it’s documented and there is a pattern here.
Hidden costs are associated with older housing stock. Many of the older brick apartments and heritage listed streets found in suburbs with a significant proportion of federation buildings are equipped with out-of-date roof structures, wiring and pipework. A plumber who offers a quote for the repair of a blocked drain in a home with clay pipes that were installed in the 1930s is offering a quote for a more complicated job than a home built in 2015 that has PVC pipes installed.
The further away from the CBD you are, the less competition you have, as well as the closer you are to the CBD. Some areas of the inner city and lower north shore have higher commercial rents which can lead to a decrease in the number of tradies operating locally, competing for the same businesses.
If you reside in a more expensive suburb
what this signifies is that you will find a higher tax rate.
This doesn’t mean you have to pay too much! There are a couple of things that really make a difference…
If possible, book in the business hours. The after hours and emergency callouts are usually charged at 50 percent or more over the basic callout rate, plus any suburb premium.
● When you have a few smaller jobs in need of service, combine them in a single appointment. When you have a running tap, a loose power plug and a leaking gutter, have them all quoted. A single callout fee will be charged rather than three.
●Request more than one estimate for anything other than a simple repair. The gap in prices in the suburbs is an average – there are licensed tradies in every part of Sydney, including the more expensive suburbs, and they are not all that expensive!
● Find out the components of the callout fee. Some quotes may include the first 30 minutes of labour in the callout because they offer a flat rate.Some quotes might include the first 30 minutes of labour in the callout as they give a flat rate. This is one of the main reasons there is a significant gap between two quotes for the same work.
Verify the licence prior to booking, not after. It’s easy to check a tradie’s NSW licence, regardless of the quote or the suburb, within a few minutes, using NSW Fair Trading’s public register.
The bigger picture
Sydney’s tradie pricing map was far from level. Before the work even begins, the number on your quote changes due to travel time, housing age, local competition and true demand. If you know your suburb will be a factor, and not just the job itself, then it’s easier to critically read a quote and ask questions when you’re comparing tradies.
If you are looking for a local tradie but not ready to spend time sifting through the national leads of other platforms that charge you for their lead fees, SaveLocal may be a good option. It’s a directory constructed around trusted and licensed trade companies that specialize in plumbing, electrical, roofing, drainage and hot water services throughout Sydney’s north shore, Hills District, Northern Beaches, Central Coast and Newcastle, allowing you to search by suburb and directly contact them without having to go through a middleman.
This post is written by SaveLocal team.
