Cost to build a house?

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masonstone
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Cost to build a house?

Post by masonstone »

I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Jesa
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Jesa »

You will need to add a lot more details. Cost can range from $75 a square foot up to hundreds if not more per a square foot. It all depends on finishes, ceiling heights, basement or no basement etc. Ranch houses are 20-25% more than a two story in my experience (bigger footprint). I recently had a quote on a 3,800 sqft new home build in the Atlanta area. With higher end finishes, pricing was $175 a sqft. excluding the land.
Mr. Rumples
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Mr. Rumples »

To echo the above post, there are simply too many variables. There is software available to help. For an overview of cost to build a custom house:

https://home.costhelper.com/build-custom-home.html
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123
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by 123 »

Price the cost of a comparable nearby existing house (excluding the land you already have). Multiply the cost of the existing house by 2 to 4 times to get the general cost of building from scratch.
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Sconie
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Sconie »

123 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:27 pm Price the cost of a comparable nearby existing house (excluding the land you already have). Multiply the cost of the existing house by 2 to 4 times to get the general cost of building from scratch.

Hmm......while pricing comparable existing nearby homes is an excellent suggestion, multiplying/increasing the cost of an existing house by anywhere from 200% to 400% seems high to me. Something along the lines of 125% to a maximum (of possibly) 200% would seem to make more sense IMHO.
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Topic Author
masonstone
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by masonstone »

Sconie wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:44 pm
123 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:27 pm Price the cost of a comparable nearby existing house (excluding the land you already have). Multiply the cost of the existing house by 2 to 4 times to get the general cost of building from scratch.

Hmm......while pricing comparable existing nearby homes is an excellent suggestion, multiplying/increasing the cost of an existing house by anywhere from 200% to 400% seems high to me. Something along the lines of 125% to a maximum (of possibly) 200% would seem to make more sense IMHO.
Agree
ARoseByAnyOtherName
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by ARoseByAnyOtherName »

masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Call up some local general contractors and ask them what their cost per square foot for new construction is coming in at lately.

You didn’t post nearly enough information to get useful estimates here, and most people providing estimates here almost certainly aren’t contractors.
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

123 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:27 pm Price the cost of a comparable nearby existing house (excluding the land you already have). Multiply the cost of the existing house by 2 to 4 times to get the general cost of building from scratch.
Building a custom home is indeed more costly than buying a comparable existing home, but 2x - 4x?!?
Surely, you are being a bit hyperbolic.

We are in the process of building a custom place currently, and it was no where near that, more like 1.25 to maybe 1.5, as it is some what difficult to do a direct comparison to "similar" homes when talking about custom builds.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:49 pm
masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Call up some local general contractors and ask them what their cost per square foot for new construction is coming in at lately.

You didn’t post nearly enough information to get useful estimates here, and most people providing estimates here almost certainly aren’t contractors.
In our experience, reputable custom home builders will not give you such a number because it can be all over the place depending on specific details of the house.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
IowaFarmBoy
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by IowaFarmBoy »

Location and the local labor market are going to make a big difference, too. You really need to talk to some local resources.
ARoseByAnyOtherName
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by ARoseByAnyOtherName »

marcopolo wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:50 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:49 pm
masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Call up some local general contractors and ask them what their cost per square foot for new construction is coming in at lately.

You didn’t post nearly enough information to get useful estimates here, and most people providing estimates here almost certainly aren’t contractors.
In our experience, reputable custom home builders will not give you such a number because it can be all over the place depending on specific details of the house.
Ask for a range instead of a number. And then call up local architects and ask the same question. Actually an architect that we have worked with posted a very rough pricing calculator online that is tailored to our area and I found the estimates it provided to be within ballpark range of actual. You might find something similar for your area.
557880yvi
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by 557880yvi »

We have built several. Getting an architect if you want custom is how you will get the most accurate pricing (but for a good architect, $20k is a starting point for their work and it an go way up). But make sure the architect knows your state and town building codes! If you are open to a home plan that is something a builder has built many of (with only minor mods and interior customization) then you can use a design/build contractor.

No matter what you choose - work with an experienced lawyer who knows construction to get a good contract.

Without going into long stories here... it will take longer than you think, cost at least 20% more than you planned and no matter how well you plan the unexpected will happen (but yes, I would do it all over again!).
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
We are in the process of building a custom home currently. I can give you some of our experiences. Every build is different, so your experience might vary.

The fact that your lot already had a home on it will likely make it easier to get a better estimate, especially if you stay withing the foot pront of your building pad. About 25% of the cost of our build was spent on grading the land to get a flat building area, bringing in utilities, etc. This was also where a lot of the variability that could not be controlled ahead of time came in.

We looked at a bunch of different resources to try to estimate our costs. In retrospect (although, we are still not finished), this site came the closest to providing a reasonable estimate: https://www.craftsman-book.com/national ... e-software

That site used to have a free estimating tool, but i did not see it when i just visited it. Maybe it is buried away somewhere still.
Even the free version asked a lot of questions about the quality of products and finishes you wanted in the home and provided an estimate adjusted to that, as well as locality.

A few things I will mention:
1) Costs only go up at each stage: Design, planning, permitting, bidding, building. Some of it will be in your control, but it is very easy to get in the "we are already spending $xxx thousands of dollars, what is a little more to get this nicer item for yyy". Other items will be somewhat out of your control. The more detailed specifications you have (lots of decisions on items throughout the house), the better you will be able to estimate actual costs.

2) You will be overwhelmed by all the decisions you have to make. Things i would never would have thought about, and not particularly cared about, still take time to decide.

3) The process will take a lot of your time

4) There will be bumps along the way. It is a complex process, hiccups will happen.

Despite all of that, we have thoroughly enjoyed the process. We are getting excited as the house is really starting to take shape.
But, I would caution anyone to not go into it lightly, it is not for the feint of heart.

Good luck to you
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:57 pm
marcopolo wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:50 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:49 pm
masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Call up some local general contractors and ask them what their cost per square foot for new construction is coming in at lately.

You didn’t post nearly enough information to get useful estimates here, and most people providing estimates here almost certainly aren’t contractors.
In our experience, reputable custom home builders will not give you such a number because it can be all over the place depending on specific details of the house.
Ask for a range instead of a number. And then call up local architects and ask the same question. Actually an architect that we have worked with posted a very rough pricing calculator online that is tailored to our area and I found the estimates it provided to be within ballpark range of actual. You might find something similar for your area.
We have been through the process (currently under construction). As with most complex jobs, the usefulness of any estimate will be dependent on the level of detail that is available on which to base that estimate. The OP does not sound like he has a set of plans as of yet. At that stage, builders will either give you a very large range (to the point of being meaningless), or refrain from doing so until they get more details. Again, that is just an anecdotal observation based on our experience.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
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TxAg
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by TxAg »

In Dallas it'd be around $150-200 psf for a pretty nice house.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
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fishandgolf
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by fishandgolf »

DW and I just moved into a new house....due to age, it was time to downsize. We designed the house and chose a very reputable local contractor to build it. We ended up with 1782 sq.ft along with a 3-car garage (30' x 42'). We also added a few amenities......not necessarily needs... but more like....wants. :beer

Location: South Central Wisconsin

Lot size: 1/3 acre in rural subdivision. $40K.

Sq. Ft: 1782

Cost per Sq. Ft: $202.00. Does not include cost of lot

Results: We are very happy with the outcome. Very pleased with the contractor and his subs. They did an outstanding job and we could not be more pleased! :sharebeer
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fishandgolf
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by fishandgolf »

marcopolo wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:13 pm
masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
We are in the process of building a custom home currently. I can give you some of our experiences. Every build is different, so your experience might vary.

The fact that your lot already had a home on it will likely make it easier to get a better estimate, especially if you stay withing the foot pront of your building pad. About 25% of the cost of our build was spent on grading the land to get a flat building area, bringing in utilities, etc. This was also where a lot of the variability that could not be controlled ahead of time came in.

We looked at a bunch of different resources to try to estimate our costs. In retrospect (although, we are still not finished), this site came the closest to providing a reasonable estimate: https://www.craftsman-book.com/national ... e-software

That site used to have a free estimating tool, but i did not see it when i just visited it. Maybe it is buried away somewhere still.
Even the free version asked a lot of questions about the quality of products and finishes you wanted in the home and provided an estimate adjusted to that, as well as locality.

A few things I will mention:
1) Costs only go up at each stage: Design, planning, permitting, bidding, building. Some of it will be in your control, but it is very easy to get in the "we are already spending $xxx thousands of dollars, what is a little more to get this nicer item for yyy". Other items will be somewhat out of your control. The more detailed specifications you have (lots of decisions on items throughout the house), the better you will be able to estimate actual costs.

2) You will be overwhelmed by all the decisions you have to make. Things i would never would have thought about, and not particularly cared about, still take time to decide.

3) The process will take a lot of your time

4) There will be bumps along the way. It is a complex process, hiccups will happen.

Despite all of that, we have thoroughly enjoyed the process. We are getting excited as the house is really starting to take shape.
But, I would caution anyone to not go into it lightly, it is not for the feint of heart.

Good luck to you
To a point I do agree with marcopolo's comments. The entire process is a bit overwhelming. In hind sight, I would do it again. What I would suggest is this: If you are a neophyte and have never built a new house, I strongly recommend that you sit down with your builder and do a thorough discussion about the plans and the prints. This was the first house we built and a few of the issues that we encountered could have been prevented with the aforementioned process.
ARoseByAnyOtherName
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by ARoseByAnyOtherName »

marcopolo wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:18 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:57 pm
marcopolo wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:50 pm
ARoseByAnyOtherName wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 6:49 pm
masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.

Thanks!
Call up some local general contractors and ask them what their cost per square foot for new construction is coming in at lately.

You didn’t post nearly enough information to get useful estimates here, and most people providing estimates here almost certainly aren’t contractors.
In our experience, reputable custom home builders will not give you such a number because it can be all over the place depending on specific details of the house.
Ask for a range instead of a number. And then call up local architects and ask the same question. Actually an architect that we have worked with posted a very rough pricing calculator online that is tailored to our area and I found the estimates it provided to be within ballpark range of actual. You might find something similar for your area.
We have been through the process (currently under construction). As with most complex jobs, the usefulness of any estimate will be dependent on the level of detail that is available on which to base that estimate. The OP does not sound like he has a set of plans as of yet. At that stage, builders will either give you a very large range (to the point of being meaningless), or refrain from doing so until they get more details. Again, that is just an anecdotal observation based on our experience.
I hear you, but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to get a very rough idea of cost even at a very early stage.

OP could go to a local architect who’s work they like, look through their portfolio, find a house closest to what they want, and ask for cost per square foot. That would give a decent ballpark.
Wash.Invest
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Wash.Invest »

Cost to have a home built is very dependent on locale and finishes and labor rates.

as a general rule... I would plan on $200 / SF of you have it 100% completed for you by a custom builder. (Our assessor uses $275/ SF)

For those of us who build our own... $75/SF = $100/SF will suffice for most. (mine was $38 many yrs ago)

I prefer to build my own, as contractors like to build the home that is easiest and quickest for them.

Depending on their other customers / opportunities, they my not have the time to build a 'one-time-house' for you to your specs and desires.

It is important to me to have a very unique home with lots of custom stone, built-ins. (and a basement). Couldn't find a contractor willing to do that, so had to do it myself (3X).
runswithscissors
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by runswithscissors »

We recently built our new house in a HCOL area. ~$310/SF for a two-story 3 bdrm, 2.5 bath, 1600 SF under roof, 400 SF garage and 120 SF covered deck. Fairly level lot with very minimal excavating and civil scope. Included about 140 linear feet of wood fencing. Cost included permits but architect fees were separate. The cost per SF includes the garage and exterior deck SF so the interior is actually significantly higher because the garage and deck are much cheaper to construct. Finishes were above average but by no means opulent.
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

StealthRabbit wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:31 pm Cost to have a home built is very dependent on locale and finishes and labor rates.

as a general rule... I would plan on $200 / SF of you have it 100% completed for you by a custom builder. (Our assessor uses $275/ SF)

For those of us who build our own... $75/SF = $100/SF will suffice for most. (mine was $38 many yrs ago)

I prefer to build my own, as contractors like to build the home that is easiest and quickest for them.

Depending on their other customers / opportunities, they my not have the time to build a 'one-time-house' for you to your specs and desires.

It is important to me to have a very unique home with lots of custom stone, built-ins. (and a basement). Couldn't find a contractor willing to do that, so had to do it myself (3X).
I agree with your first sentence.
You could not touch a custom home for $200/sq ft. in our locale.
But, you comment about builder not having time to build a "one-time-house" to your specs makes me wonder if we are talking about different things.

The $200/sq ft. is probably reasonable for a home built by a large home builder that has a number of models and allows some level of tweaks, and specifying finishes, usually part of building out a development of such homes.

This is a bit different than a custom designed home with your own footprint, features, and finishes. That has a much higher cost, some of which is due to being a one-time-house (no economies of scale enjoyed by large builders).
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

runswithscissors wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 10:51 pm We recently built our new house in a HCOL area. ~$310/SF for a two-story 3 bdrm, 2.5 bath, 1600 SF under roof, 400 SF garage and 120 SF covered deck. Fairly level lot with very minimal excavating and civil scope. Included about 140 linear feet of wood fencing. Cost included permits but architect fees were separate. The cost per SF includes the garage and exterior deck SF so the interior is actually significantly higher because the garage and deck are much cheaper to construct. Finishes were above average but by no means opulent.
This is close to our experience as well. I had not computed it including total square footage (including garage and covered lanai) before, that makes the cost at least sound more reasonable!

We also had quit a bit of grading/excavation work that was in addition to the build costs.
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
SQRT
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by SQRT »

We are in the early stages rebuilding our lake house in Ontario. Will be about 4,500 sq ft, single story, totally custom, and I figure it will be close to $500 sq ft. This is Canadian dollars so US equivalent about $375. No doubt you can do it cheaper and your cost will reflect the features and type of construction you want. Whatever you think it will be, it will be more. Unlikely to be much under $300.
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JoeRetire
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by JoeRetire »

masonstone wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 4:21 pm I'm thinking of building a 4000 square foot house. What's the cost per square foot of building a house in a major metro city (not on the west coast). Assume the land will be bought separately and had a home on it that was torn down. Do not include the cost of the land or tear down in the price. I just want to know approximate construction costs.
The cost is from a little to a lot.

You'll have to narrow it down a bit more than "a major metro city not on the west coast". The US has many major metro cities. They don't all cost the same.

Do some thinking.
Then do some research on the internet.
Last edited by JoeRetire on Thu Oct 31, 2019 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Jack FFR1846
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

If the cost difference within reasonable driving distance is vast (see my last post), you might be able to hire a builder from a lower cost area, who is willing to commute for such a big job. Our neighbor was having work done and was happy with the contractor who commuted from 60 miles away and was far cheaper than anyone local. I hired him to work on my house. The cost was far less even with the contractor figuring in his time and cost to commute into my area.
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RetireBy55
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by RetireBy55 »

Totally depends on architecture of home to be built, lot prep, finishes, etc.

That said, in our area (upper Midwest), modest custom home builds of any reasonable quality can't be had for under $200/sf and can easily go to $300+/sf. And that does not include cost of the land, bringing in utilities if needed, etc.

We were going to build a ~2,500 sq ft house 2 years ago and already had signed offers on the land. After talking with several custom home builders and architects, we found that it would easily be $800K+ all-in to build our "modest" 2,500 sq ft retirement house so reneged on the offers, paid the sellers a minimal penalty to break the contract and dropped the project.

We're back to looking at used (vs building new) and have not been able to find what we're looking for. Nothing even close. But the search continues..and continues..maybe some day we'll find it. Tough to be retired, wanting to downsize, and not being able to find a house that's more conducive to a retirement cost level and lifestyle..
DurangoWino
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by DurangoWino »

We recently built a 3000 SF house in Durango and the cost was in the $250-275/SF. This does not include the lot. Great builder with really nice subs for woodwork and stone work. Since we were on some what of a budget our cabinets and windows were very nice but not anywhere close to as high as you could go - say upper middle of the scale.

One of the things that was surprising was how expensive a covered patio was. The quote earlier of $125/SF was what our builder said it would run and so we had to cut back in that area.

Last week we had our builder and wife over for dinner and he commented on how much building costs had gone up in last couple of years and how fortunate we were to have already completed our house.
Nowizard
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Nowizard »

Look at pricing of new homes for sale and determine sf asking price. Look at homes sold in the same area and determine the difference between asking and selling price. Consider whether to further deduct an assumed realtor fee for sold homes and figure the sf average. In our area, for example, nicely appointed larger homes are selling for approximately $170-175 per sf, including the lot. We recently purchased a home in the size you plan to build for $143.75 per sf. It is located in a very desirable area in a LCOL state. It would be much more expensive in many areas.

Tim
alwaysonit
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by alwaysonit »

Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
guyfromct
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by guyfromct »

alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 11:57 am
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
I think this bakes in the cost of land.
exodusNH
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by exodusNH »

alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 11:57 am
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
It is not as desirable to live in Worcester as it is in Boston. 45 minutes may not sound like a lot, but then you need to park and someone needs to drive. (Public transportation doesn't run late enough for a long night out.)

Some of the increase reflects the land cost difference. The rest is "what the market will bear" to live in Boston.

Worcester and the surrounding area aren't bad at all. But it's no Boston. I don't think I'd want to live in Springfield.
bg5
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by bg5 »

I live in LCOL midwest town.

$200 is as cheap as we can find around town and most are upwards of $300-$500 a square foot
pshonore
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by pshonore »

alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 11:57 am
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
I doubt anyone is building single family residential construction in Beacon Hill (or East Boston either). Not really a valid comparison to the suburbs. How about Lexington, Weston, Concord, Hingham, Lincoln etc.
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deanbrew
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by deanbrew »

I started reading this thread and was shaking my head at the figures being mentioned. Then I realized I was reading posts from 2019.

Construction has pretty much doubled in cost over the past three years, based on several sources. The figure I'm hearing recently in NC is around $300 to $350 per SF for above average but not luxury homes, excluding land.
Last edited by deanbrew on Thu May 26, 2022 2:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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DDubya
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by DDubya »

I am building a modest custom home now on a lake in rural Minnesota about 75 miles from Minneapolis. Slightly under 2,500 square feet plus detached 2-car garage. Contract price is about $188 per sq ft. With extras/upgrades I expect final to cost come in at $194 per sq ft. Started March 15, move-in August 13, although they are 1 week ahead right now. Not the greatest experience ever, but can’t wait to live on the lake after living all our lives in the City.
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deanbrew
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by deanbrew »

The $300-350 per square foot I was told is probably a bit high. I looked at a few new homes that are for sale, and they are in that range including the land. After deducting a reasonable amount for a developed lot, the construction is probably more like $250 to $300 per SF. Still way, way up from three years ago.
"The course of history shows that as the government grows, liberty decreases." Thomas Jefferson
marcopolo
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by marcopolo »

DDubya wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 1:52 pm I am building a modest custom home now on a lake in rural Minnesota about 75 miles from Minneapolis. Slightly under 2,500 square feet plus detached 2-car garage. Contract price is about $188 per sq ft. With extras/upgrades I expect final to cost come in at $194 per sq ft. Started March 15, move-in August 13, although they are 1 week ahead right now. Not the greatest experience ever, but can’t wait to live on the lake after living all our lives in the City.
You must have found a unicorn builder.
A custom home completed in 5 months,
and under $200 sq ft.?!?
Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right.
alwaysonit
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by alwaysonit »

exodusNH wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 12:23 pm
alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 11:57 am
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
It is not as desirable to live in Worcester as it is in Boston. 45 minutes may not sound like a lot, but then you need to park and someone needs to drive. (Public transportation doesn't run late enough for a long night out.)

Some of the increase reflects the land cost difference. The rest is "what the market will bear" to live in Boston.

Worcester and the surrounding area aren't bad at all. But it's no Boston. I don't think I'd want to live in Springfield.
My point is that if I am quoted 10 million for a build in the desirable area, and 1 million for the same build on less desirable land 45 miles away, I would source the materials and service from 45 miles away and the transport and inconvenience fees during the build would be worth me paying.
The same would go for any example that is not so extreme - if I am quoted 100k less a distance away and they will come to the expensive area for a fee of 50k, I am still getting better value.
Is there something I am missing here?
Johny Fever
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Johny Fever »

We are building right now actually just finished the foundation and they are starting the framing. My son is our general contractor and we are in southwest Michigan area. We are building about 3500 in the main house and we are close to $225 per square foot. We are doing double wall construction and upgraded insulation and in ground radiant heat. Our son in law is doing the HVAC also and he is more worried about just getting supplies than anything else. Also Geothermal heat so we are spending a little more but not really to far out of the norm. We are paying son his normal fees but he is giving us a slight discount because we are paying cash for all of it and he has less to deal with as far as bank and loan release goes.
Son has warned us that everything goes slow right now and to expect delays. So...if we are in by next spring I guess thats a win. We are also building a 100X50 Morton Steel out building and those folks have more problems than a math book but again...when its up its up and what it costs it costs....I would keep AT LEAST a 25% over plan in place...we are.
exodusNH
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by exodusNH »

alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 4:09 pm
exodusNH wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 12:23 pm
alwaysonit wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 11:57 am
Jack FFR1846 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2019 7:21 pm Exactly where matters. East Boston (you'd better like jet engine noise) $500 per square foot. Beacon Hill, $1500 per square foot.

https://www.campionre.com/blog/posts/20 ... -boston-1/

Inside the city of Worcester, MA (second largest New England city, 45 miles from Boston) $177 per square foot.

So going 40 miles from the State house, the cost drops to 1/10th. It gets cheaper going farther west.

Springfield, MA, which is slightly smaller than Worcester, but not much is $126 per square foot. About 90 miles west of Boston.
Assuming this is not just the price for land, but rather the materials and service needed to build, I don't understand the economics of a 1/10th price difference 45 miles from each other.

Surely the contractors from Worcester would be willing to travel this distance to earn 10 times as much than they currently do?
It is not as desirable to live in Worcester as it is in Boston. 45 minutes may not sound like a lot, but then you need to park and someone needs to drive. (Public transportation doesn't run late enough for a long night out.)

Some of the increase reflects the land cost difference. The rest is "what the market will bear" to live in Boston.

Worcester and the surrounding area aren't bad at all. But it's no Boston. I don't think I'd want to live in Springfield.
My point is that if I am quoted 10 million for a build in the desirable area, and 1 million for the same build on less desirable land 45 miles away, I would source the materials and service from 45 miles away and the transport and inconvenience fees during the build would be worth me paying.
The same would go for any example that is not so extreme - if I am quoted 100k less a distance away and they will come to the expensive area for a fee of 50k, I am still getting better value.
Is there something I am missing here?
No. This played our a few weeks ago with a friend of mine. They needed a couple of trees removed. They first company quoted something like $10k. They called another company and got it done for $2k. The extra $8k was simply a markup because of where they lived. This wasn't some intricate extraction next to a nitroglycerin factory on top of which was the nest of the last-known whooping crane breeding couple in NH.
VeryBlessedCali
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by VeryBlessedCali »

I echo everyone's advice here regarding the cost of Custom home. I completed this process last year. Do the Contractor quotes include ALL city permits and fees? How about Utility Connections (water, sewer, electricity)? In my case, to get a separate water line for the custom home was 10 times more than what was expected. Getting a separate meter for Electricity was painfully challenging to say the least.

Have a Blessed day.
newyorker
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by newyorker »

VeryBlessedCali wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:19 pm I echo everyone's advice here regarding the cost of Custom home. I completed this process last year. Do the Contractor quotes include ALL city permits and fees? How about Utility Connections (water, sewer, electricity)? In my case, to get a separate water line for the custom home was 10 times more than what was expected. Getting a separate meter for Electricity was painfully challenging to say the least.

Have a Blessed day.
Not to hijack the thread but can you elaborate how home building experience it is? I really want to do one myself but is it lots of headaches? Or headaches that money can solve or cant solve. Can I go with what the builder quotes me or does it go up substantially afterward?
exodusNH
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by exodusNH »

newyorker wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:44 pm
VeryBlessedCali wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:19 pm I echo everyone's advice here regarding the cost of Custom home. I completed this process last year. Do the Contractor quotes include ALL city permits and fees? How about Utility Connections (water, sewer, electricity)? In my case, to get a separate water line for the custom home was 10 times more than what was expected. Getting a separate meter for Electricity was painfully challenging to say the least.

Have a Blessed day.
Not to hijack the thread but can you elaborate how home building experience it is? I really want to do one myself but is it lots of headaches? Or headaches that money can solve or cant solve. Can I go with what the builder quotes me or does it go up substantially afterward?
In normal times, there are usually overages, most often because of customer change orders. ("Wouldn't it be great if ...?" BAM! $10,000 change order.) Nowadays, because of supply shortages with both labor and materials, you are getting additional escalations.
newyorker
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by newyorker »

exodusNH wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:47 pm
newyorker wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:44 pm
VeryBlessedCali wrote: Thu May 26, 2022 7:19 pm I echo everyone's advice here regarding the cost of Custom home. I completed this process last year. Do the Contractor quotes include ALL city permits and fees? How about Utility Connections (water, sewer, electricity)? In my case, to get a separate water line for the custom home was 10 times more than what was expected. Getting a separate meter for Electricity was painfully challenging to say the least.

Have a Blessed day.
Not to hijack the thread but can you elaborate how home building experience it is? I really want to do one myself but is it lots of headaches? Or headaches that money can solve or cant solve. Can I go with what the builder quotes me or does it go up substantially afterward?
In normal times, there are usually overages, most often because of customer change orders. ("Wouldn't it be great if ...?" BAM! $10,000 change order.) Nowadays, because of supply shortages with both labor and materials, you are getting additional escalations.
My dream to have a custom house but this kind of stuff just scares me. Maybe better to just buy one of those regular homes.
TravelforFun
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by TravelforFun »

I'm building a lake house 45 minutes southeast of Dallas.

0.6 acres of land with 100' of lake frontage =$265K
3,500 sf home with 3 car garage = $700k construction cost. Materials and fixtures we use are in the middle of their price ranges.

Contract negotiated in October 2021, house is 75% complete and so far, no change orders and the contractor has not requested any re-pricing due to material cost increases although the contract does allow him to do so.

TravelforFun
RubyTuesday
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by RubyTuesday »

Western NC custom home still in the design and pricing stages. Looking at over $400/sq ft not including land.
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Zagnificent
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Zagnificent »

I’m currently building a custom home in the Charleston, SC area. The build price for the base level of my home, which is 3500 sqft with hardwood floors, Quartz counters, KitchenAid appliances, landscaping…everything…is 800,000. That’s with a custom builder before the selection process and other custom add-ons and over stuff. The lot is an extra $375k.
skis4hire
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by skis4hire »

When considering building cost, many think of the finishes, layout, size as the main variables they can choose.
What is often left out is the 'option' of following modern building techniques which will create a home that is healthier, more comfortable, and less expensive to heat/cool.

I expect most people will not build to Passive House standard, but one should be aware of the option.
A house with good air sealing (validated with a blower door test), above-code insulation, and mechanical ventilation creates a more comfortable and healthy environment. These methods have a cost but it is not prohibitive.

See Also: https://www.prettygoodhouse.org/the-who ... ne-reading

OP posted in 2019. For their sake, I hope they completed construction by now given the rise in material and labor costs.
Firemenot
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Re: Cost to build a house?

Post by Firemenot »

In may area base construction is going for $500 a square foot. I solicited many bids and that’s the cheapest. And it’s a very easy to build design and basic finishing. Insane.
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