Itemized Cost to Build a New House 2018-19

[Midpack]

I wanted this for myself, thought I'd post in case anyone else might be interested. Just an example, presumably everything "builders grade," and without the cost of land (which can vary tremendously).

FWIW

https://www.24hplans.com/how-much-does-it-cost-build-new-house/

 

[Another Reader]

Rebuilding costs in Santa Rosa after the fire are around $450 per square foot. I don't know anywhere on the West Coast where the cost is less than $200 per square foot. And that's home builder costs.

 

[W2R]

I wanted this for myself, thought I'd post in case anyone else might be interested. Just an example, presumably everything "builders grade," and without the cost of land (which can vary tremendously).

One thing's for sure; it's not going to be cheap. And those of us who have lived in brand new never-been-lived-in homes, know that the extra costs (in comparison with a "used home") don't stop on move-in day. The nickle-and-dime'ing just keeps dinging your bank account endlessly. Silly you, you want a mailbox? Oops, the brand new house doesn't have one. Street number on the house? Uh, no. Window coverings? No, you're on a stage for the world to see as you dress or undress. A simple hook for your bathrobe? Nope. And it goes on and on and on to the point at which it could drive one mad. A previously owned home will have all of these, and often extra conveniences specific to the home that I never would have thought about.

Each to his/her own, but I have no plans to ever build a house to live in.

 

[Ronstar]

Midpack- thanks for posting the chart. I’d have a house built if I could get those prices.

 

[aja8888]

I wanted this for myself, thought I'd post in case anyone else might be interested. Just an example, presumably everything "builders grade," and without the cost of land (which can vary tremendously).

FWIW

https://www.24hplans.com/how-much-does-it-cost-build-new-house/

Nice guide. I wish this existed when I built two homes in Connecticut decades ago. One thing that's not included is how much of your hair is going to fall out after going through the process of acting as the General Contractor and hiring all the subs to build your house. It's a daunting process, to be sure.

Never again would I do anything like this. There are too may very nice used homes on the market that are 98% of what your wife needs (wants).

 

[Midpack]

One thing's for sure; it's not going to be cheap. And those of us who have lived in brand new never-been-lived-in homes, know that the extra costs (in comparison with a "used home") don't stop on move-in day. The nickle-and-dime'ing just keeps dinging your bank account endlessly. Silly you, you want a mailbox? Oops, the brand new house doesn't have one. Street number on the house? Uh, no. Window coverings? No, you're on a stage for the world to see as you dress or undress. A simple hook for your bathrobe? Nope. And it goes on and on and on to the point at which it could drive one mad. A previously owned home will have all of these, and often extra conveniences specific to the home that I never would have thought about.

Each to his/her own, but I have no plans to ever build a house to live in.

I've had a new home built once and it was not pleasant even before the "nickel and diming." A resale would be easier and probably about 20% cheaper per sqft in a better location.

Believe me I don't want to buy a new home, but it may be our only option to get exactly what we want in a forever home (not quite like most mainstream homes, much less older resales), unless we're willing to wait forever for a (late model) resale close enough to our spec. We've been looking for quite a while, and it's going to be an interesting process to watch DW grapple with the inevitable trade offs between price, location, size, amenities, layout, efficiency, etc.

But I'm just sharing the chart FWIW. Not looking for help in our search.

 

[RunningBum]

One thing's for sure; it's not going to be cheap. And those of us who have lived in brand new never-been-lived-in homes, know that the extra costs (in comparison with a "used home") don't stop on move-in day. The nickle-and-dime'ing just keeps dinging your bank account endlessly. Silly you, you want a mailbox? Oops, the brand new house doesn't have one. Street number on the house? Uh, no. Window coverings? No, you're on a stage for the world to see as you dress or undress. A simple hook for your bathrobe? Nope. And it goes on and on and on to the point at which it could drive one mad. A previously owned home will have all of these, and often extra conveniences specific to the home that I never would have thought about.

Each to his/her own, but I have no plans to ever build a house to live in.

All good points.

On the other hand, many things in a house need to be repaired or replaced over time. Buy a new house, and the clock starts at 0. Buy a 20 year old house, and you're likely to be facing a lot of repair expenses in the near future.

A newer existing house can be nice because you're not too many years any, and any big construction mistakes have probably already been fixed.

Oh, those extra conveniences may include things you didn't really want. Don't want a fireplace? Too bad, this house you really like has one, and the price is a little higher because of it.

One this is for sure, building a new house is almost always stressful.

 

[steelyman]

But I'm just sharing the chart FWIW. Not looking for help in our search.

I’m glad you did post the chart and included the related URL, looks like useful info whether building or not.

 

[HillCountry]

Not reading into the details of the link, as the number is not reasonable. I will build in four years and I am looking at 300 per sqft.

 

[Midpack]

Not reading into the details of the link, as the number is not reasonable. I will build in four years and I am looking at 300 per sqft.

Including land? If not, that's a very nice house.

Not reasonable? I noted in the OP it was just an example and presumably builder grade. There are definitely places all across the US, including TX, where you can build a house for $100 per sqft without land costs. $300 per sqft without land is above average for the majority of homeowners.

 

[Texas Proud]

The one thing that I do not see is the sq ft of the house... it makes a big difference...




Also needed if buying your first house that most people do not think about it all the equipment you need to get to just do yard and house work... and few people have furniture to fill up a larger house than the apt you were living in..

 

[RunningBum]

The one thing that I do not see is the sq ft of the house... it makes a big difference...

It's in the article.

Now, let’s add up the total costs and consider the cost per square foot for 2016/2017 for a home 2,497 square feet:

• Average total home construction cost: $256,580

• Average cost per square foot: $102.75

Home construction cost per square foot has risen from about $80/sq. ft. in 2011 to $95/sq. ft. in 2013 to today’s figure of $103.50, per the National Association of Home Builders, the industry’s leading professional association.

Also needed if buying your first house that most people do not think about it all the equipment you need to get to just do yard and house work... and few people have furniture to fill up a larger house than the apt you were living in..

Those expenses happen whether you buy a new home or existing, unless the previous owner leaves stuff. It's very clear you wouldn't include this in the actual construction cost of the house since it has nothing to do with construction.

 

[Midpack]

Never again would I do anything like this. There are too may very nice used homes on the market that are 98% of what your wife needs (wants).

I'll have my DW contact you, so you can 'splain that to her.

And seriously, we've been looking at resales online almost daily since July, and there hasn't been anything even close to 98% - maybe 75%...

 

[Ronstar]

Never again would I do anything like this. There are too may very nice used homes on the market that are 98% of what your wife needs (wants).

My experience is that remodeling 2% of a nice used home is tougher on a guy than building new home.

 

[davebarnes]

This pie chart is way too funny.
$4K for water/sewer hookup. LOL.
In Erie, Colorado, where they are building "cheap" houses, the water/sewer and impact fees are $46K.
https://www.erieco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4612

 

[Teacher Terry]

We had one new home and yes all the extras really do add up. It wasn’t cheap either to remodel the old one we bought even with DH doing the work.

 

[Walt34]

One thing's for sure; it's not going to be cheap. And those of us who have lived in brand new never-been-lived-in homes, know that the extra costs (in comparison with a "used home") don't stop on move-in day. The nickle-and-dime'ing just keeps dinging your bank account endlessly. Silly you, you want a mailbox? Oops, the brand new house doesn't have one. Street number on the house? Uh, no. Window coverings? No, you're on a stage for the world to see as you dress or undress. A simple hook for your bathrobe? Nope. And it goes on and on and on to the point at which it could drive one mad.

That was a lesson we learned when we moved to WV. We were in deficit spending mode for 6-8 months after move-in date, and we had all the yard maintenance gear from our previous house. Suffice it to say that Lowes and other home furnishing stores were loving us.

Never again!

 

[RunningBum]

This pie chart is way too funny.
$4K for water/sewer hookup. LOL.
In Erie, Colorado, where they are building "cheap" houses, the water/sewer and impact fees are $46K.
https://www.erieco.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4612

You think that's normal? First current hit when I googled was Arlington, VA, a high priced area. https://building.arlingtonva.us/des-fee-schedules/water-sewer-services-fees/
$3300.

Just because you found an exception and think it's funny, doesn't make it wrong.

 

[Ronstar]

Impact fees are somewhat driven by a municipality’s capacity to service additional homes. If they are at or near capacity, or if the municipality has high costs in providing utility services, they will impose impact fees accordingly.

 

[Bamaman]

They left one item off the pie chart--the cost of the divorce. Building a home from scratch puts untold pressures on a marriage.

I found it much less expensive for my wife to search for a foreclosure in good shape, and fortunately we had the cash reserves to do a quick, easy transaction. And we ended up at $60 per square foot.

 

[aja8888]

I'll have my DW contact you, so you can 'splain that to her.

And seriously, we've been looking at resales online almost daily since July, and there hasn't been anything even close to 98% - maybe 75%...

I guess it just depends on what your DW and you feel is a "must have".

I'm not sure how to express this properly, but as we aged, we have lowered our priorities on what we want(ed) in a house. It's just not that important in relation to other issues.

 

[Teacher Terry]

We have found our house desires greatly reduced also. Our must haves were a single story, dining room, 2 bathrooms, yard, in town and at least a one car garage.

 

[aja8888]

We have found our house desires greatly reduced also. Our must haves were a single story, dining room, 2 bathrooms, yard, in town and at least a one car garage.

Ours were that and including a two car garage instead of one. (and the dining room was just a place to put the 45 year old furniture that the kids don't want).

But I do remember building our 2,900 square foot Colonial home in Southbury, Connecticut on 3 acres and even spec'ing out all the lumber, outlets, roofing materials, siding grade (cedar) and pipe sizes. Lived there until the paint dried and got transferred to Southern California.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I would most definitely call that chart "builder grade"...as in as cheap as you could about get. We recently went through the process of pricing out a new build with 3 different contractors (in flyover country, where costs are fairly reasonable) and no way we could get even close to that chart. Housing material costs have increased since this 2016/2017 chart...as an example, Carrier has had 3 price increases THIS YEAR ALONE on HVAC units.

Ultimately, we came across a pre-existing home that is about 10 years old and checks damn near every box (and then some) we were looking for, so we "lucked out".

One of the contractors we were in discussion with initially has become a "drinking buddy" with the DW and me and he came over to the house right after we took possession to take a look. He told us that it would cost him at least $75,000 more than we paid to build something similar and that building is almost never the better financial choice.

 

[Texas Proud]

I must have been lucky when we bought our used house... sure, it was not all that we wanted but it was much better than the one we moved from....



The lucky part is that DW did not change a thing inside the house.. zip, nada, nothing.... no new paint, no new drapes, no change of wallpaper, nothing...


We have been here 10 years and last year we did change out our tub shower for a walk in, painted the cabinets and put in granite... changed out the kitchen sink and had some of the back wall surrounding the fireplace replaced as it was pretty rotten... our daughter had her bathroom repainted and we recaulked hers and sons showers...


This year DD just finished painting one wall in her room...


We are changing out our blinds as our cats continue to eat the cords and some are falling apart... DW also wants to redo our drapes as does DD... still cheap overall...


OH, forgot the new HVAC unit last year and the upcoming roof that will cost me north of $20K.... both we close to or over 20 years old...