Construction quote for a 400 m² villa in Yaoundé (2026)
Building a villa of about 400 m² in Yaoundé costs 141 000 000 FCFA to 171 000 000 FCFA including tax, i.e. 297 000 FCFA/m² to 385 000 FCFA/m² of living area, excluding land. That range is not arithmetic on an average: it comes from 2 plans actually costed at this size by the SangoImmo engine, and its width is the real finding — at equal floor area, the programme decides.
What 400 m² villas actually cost in Yaoundé
| Costed plan | Living area | Levels | Estimated cost (incl. tax) | Per m² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two-storey traditional villa, guest house and circular drive | 444 m² | 2 levels | 171 000 000 FCFA | 385 000 FCFA/m² |
| Contemporary duplex villa, master suite and garage | 474 m² | 2 levels | 141 000 000 FCFA | 297 000 FCFA/m² |
Costed by the SangoImmo engine on the 2026 catalogue, with the indicative +3 % Yaoundé adjustment applied. Excluding land.
Why we do not multiply a price per m² by the floor area
It is the question we get, and the honest answer is that one number will not do it. Across the plans above, cost per m² runs from 297 000 FCFA/m² to 385 000 FCFA/m² — a 1.29× spread between houses of comparable size. What opens that gap is not area but programme: the number of levels, the basement, the pool, the count of wet rooms, the roof spans and the finish level. Multiplying a national average by the floor area would give you a precise, confident, wrong number. We would rather publish the measured plans and let you recognise yours.
What moves the budget at this size
- Levels
- Going from single-storey to two cuts roof and foundation cost per habitable m², but adds a staircase, a suspended slab and usually heavier structure. Among our plans, two-storey houses at this size sit consistently below 350,000 FCFA/m².
- The basement
- A full or daylight basement changes what the foundations are: retaining walls, drainage and tanking. It is the single item that most clearly separates two villas of the same floor area.
- Wet rooms and the kitchen
- Plumbing, wall tiling and fittings concentrate into very few m². A 500 m² villa with five bathrooms costs materially more than a 500 m² villa with three.
- The outside works
- Fence, gate, drive, terrace and pool sit outside the building but inside the quote. On the plans above, the "fencing & exterior" trade reaches 7% of the total.
- The finish
- Between a careful finish and a premium one, the difference lands on the same m²: floor tiles, joinery, sanitaryware, paint. It is the fastest lever to pull when a budget is overrun.
Breakdown by trade — Two-storey traditional villa, guest house and circular drive
Here is the structure of a real quote for Two-storey traditional villa, guest house and circular drive (444 m², 171 000 000 FCFA including tax in Yaoundé): the same trades a project manager will present to you, in the same order. This is what the app produces from the plan, line by line.
| Trade | Amount (incl. tax) | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Floors | 25 500 000 FCFA | 23.9 % |
| Roof | 24 500 000 FCFA | 22.9 % |
| Masonry | 17 700 000 FCFA | 16.5 % |
| Finishes | 10 300 000 FCFA | 9.7 % |
| Fencing & exterior | 7 900 000 FCFA | 7.4 % |
| Doors & windows | 4 900 000 FCFA | 4.6 % |
| HVAC | 3 500 000 FCFA | 3.2 % |
| Plumbing | 3 400 000 FCFA | 3.2 % |
| Fees & charges | 2 300 000 FCFA | 2.2 % |
| Electrical | 2 000 000 FCFA | 1.8 % |
| Ceiling | 1 500 000 FCFA | 1.4 % |
| Earthworks & utilities | 1 300 000 FCFA | 1.2 % |
| Foundations | 1 100 000 FCFA | 1.0 % |
| Security | 900 000 FCFA | 0.8 % |
| Landscaping & pool | 100 000 FCFA | 0.1 % |
What this quote does not include
The land and its survey, the building permit, utility connection deposits and fees, special foundations if the soil demands them, and anything outside the plan's programme. Amounts include VAT at 19.25% and labour, at the 2026 catalogue.
The same 400 m² plan in other cities
Two-storey traditional villa, guest house and circular drive, costed city by city. The difference comes from transport, distance to quarries and the port, and local labour rates.
| City | Difference | Estimated cost (incl. tax) | Per m² |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douala | ±0 % | 166 000 000 FCFA | 373 000 FCFA/m² |
| Yaoundé | +3 % | 171 000 000 FCFA | 385 000 FCFA/m² |
| Bafoussam | −2 % | 163 000 000 FCFA | 366 000 FCFA/m² |
| Bamenda | +6 % | 176 000 000 FCFA | 396 000 FCFA/m² |
| Buea | +4 % | 173 000 000 FCFA | 388 000 FCFA/m² |
| Kribi | +4 % | 173 000 000 FCFA | 388 000 FCFA/m² |
| Garoua | +12 % | 186 000 000 FCFA | 418 000 FCFA/m² |
| Maroua | +13 % | 188 000 000 FCFA | 422 000 FCFA/m² |
| Ngaoundéré | +9 % | 181 000 000 FCFA | 407 000 FCFA/m² |
| Ebolowa | +3 % | 171 000 000 FCFA | 385 000 FCFA/m² |
Building from abroad
Most searches at this size come from the diaspora. At a distance the risk is not the price per m²: it is being unable to check what is billed against what is actually built. The itemised quote above is exactly for that — it shares over WhatsApp, compares line by line against a contractor's own, and site photos pin back to the plan. See the guide on building in Cameroon from abroad.
Estimate your own house
Change the floor area, the number of storeys, the finish level and the city — the estimate updates as you type. Same engine, same 2026 catalogue as the figures above.
A full standalone version, and the code to embed this calculator on your own site, is on the construction cost calculator page.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to build a 400 m² villa in Yaoundé?
- Between 141 000 000 FCFA and 171 000 000 FCFA including tax, excluding land — 297 000 FCFA/m² to 385 000 FCFA/m² of living area. The range is wide because the programme (levels, basement, number of wet rooms, pool, finish) weighs more than the floor area. The closest plan to 400 m² in our catalogue, "Two-storey traditional villa, guest house and circular drive", comes to 171 000 000 FCFA including tax in Yaoundé.
- Is the land included?
- No. These amounts cover construction only. Land in Yaoundé varies sharply between neighbourhoods and cannot be costed generically — nor can servicing or utility connections.
- Can I get an itemised quote rather than a range?
- Yes, and that is the point. Open the closest plan in the free SangoImmo app, adjust it to your programme and replace the unit prices with your own suppliers': you get a takeoff and a quote by trade in FCFA, exportable to PDF, offline.
- Why not just give one price per m² to multiply?
- Because the answer would be wrong. Across plans actually costed at this size, cost per m² runs from 297 000 FCFA/m² to 385 000 FCFA/m². Multiplying an average by 400 m² would produce a number that looks precise but can be tens of millions of FCFA out.
- How long does a villa this size take to build?
- Expect roughly 14 to 24 months from breaking ground to handover at this size, depending on the season you start, how it is financed and how steady the supply of materials is. A project funded as it goes stretches mechanically.
Sources and references
- Figures: SangoImmo costing engine, 2026 materials catalogue — see the full methodology. Open data, CC BY 4.0.
- National statistics and price indices for Cameroon: Institut National de la Statistique du Cameroun (INS).
- Housing policy and building permits: Ministère de l'Habitat et du Développement Urbain (MINHDU).
- Compliance rules checked by the app: SANS 10400 (building regulations), French NF DTU codes of practice, CEMAC-region practice.
Your 400 m² villa quote, line by line
Open the closest plan in SangoImmo, adjust it to your programme and your supplier prices, and export an itemised quote in FCFA — free, offline.
Launch SangoImmo — freeor try the quick cost calculator