We are in the process of building our retirement home as well. We are building in Heber City, Utah and we were absolutely blown away by the cost as well. We are building a 2700 sq foot ranch with a walk out basement and it will cost us almost 1,000,000. not counting our lot! The builder told us that materials are really high because of the demand brought on by natural disasters like Harvey. Now this is going to be a very nice house with high end finishes but still shocking.
New home construction costs - OMG!
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aja8888
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Harvey just happened? What kind of baloney is he feeding you? And the "like" disasters happened years ago.
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It's $X per square foot and X is highly dependent on what you put in it. And, as you stated, you're wanting higher end, nice stuff. $200 doesn't surprise me at all. I bought a 1,700 sq ft ranch and gutted it. No moving walls or anything like that, but all in, (initial price plus re-building cost) I'm at over $160. We'll not likely ever get what we paid for this house, but we're very happy with it and when you figure what you pay minus the years worth of living in it, minus future selling price, you might break even.
Our builder is a cost plus builder so we pay exactly what the materials cost him and the price of lumber jumped up this past week.
aja8888
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Sunset
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So you are not planning to sell it later ?
I wouldn't buy a house with a kitchen and bedrooms
This is the first thing I thought of. Unless you can afford to lose the money, I would hesitate to have "the nicest house in the area." Maybe there are other comparable properties but my experience is that buyers look mainly at square footage and price per sq ft when comparing similar properties. They may not be willing to pay for amenities you put in as their tastes might be different.
Danmar
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The softwood lumber trade dispute with Canada has been going on for decades. Very large duties have been imposed recently in the US on Canadian lumber that have greatly increased the cost of lumber in the US market. This is to protect the much less productive American industry. Don't blame it on Canada. We would love to sell you cheaper lumber.
flintnational
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New home construction costs respond to market forces. If you can wait until the housing market is slower, your construction costs are likely to fall. But, as always, markets can continue up or down for years.
FN
FN
DrRoy
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The total cost is high, but each of the elements seems about right. That is what it takes to have everything you want, just the way you want it. My fairly nice home of the same size in the suburbs 20 miles north of Detroit is less than half the cost, but it is not exactly what you described. Does it have to be perfect? Can it be smaller? DW and I have thought for a long time about building a new house someday, but we have not gone through the process of getting a real costing. I don't think I could spend as much as you are looking at. It will come down to a personal decision on whether you think it is worth it or not.
ivinsfan
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There has to be more to this story...Heber City is a town of around 12000 people. Are you going to have the only million plus dollar house in town?
Big_Hitter
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I heard a rumor that there is a shortage of construction workers. That may contribute to the cost.
wrigley
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Yeah.........most of them became pig farmers. Have you seen the cost of bacon lately!
Have you looked at homes in Heber? I'm talking about nice homes. Yes you can buy a home that is on a tiny lot with no views, but that's not what we want. There are lots of homes that are priced way over the one we are building in our neighborhood. In fact ours will be one of the less expensive homes there.
Yes, custom build is definitely expensive.
We built custom last year (one year in the house last weekend actually).
It cost more than the original plan (we knew that would happen), it was stressful, and took 7 months longer than originally planned.
And, it is perfect, I would do it again without hesitation.
It is EXACTLY what we wanted, has improved our quality of life, lowered our monthly bills (Net Zero house), given us more time and allow us to age in place.
But to get there, we did a ton of planning. I don't care about resale value, as when I leave, it will be feet first
We built custom last year (one year in the house last weekend actually).
It cost more than the original plan (we knew that would happen), it was stressful, and took 7 months longer than originally planned.
And, it is perfect, I would do it again without hesitation.
It is EXACTLY what we wanted, has improved our quality of life, lowered our monthly bills (Net Zero house), given us more time and allow us to age in place.
But to get there, we did a ton of planning. I don't care about resale value, as when I leave, it will be feet first
ivinsfan
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Is it turning into a retirement area? I thought Southern Utah was the place to retire.
38Chevy454
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I am in the same boat. Building new retirement home, also ranch style. My house is $165/sq ft and we are working to keep that as close as we can. By the time we add in septic and are done with all the interior stuff we add ourselves and outside landscaping I am sure it will get closer to the $200 figure. Does not include the cost of the lot, just building costs. Some nice features, like mostly brick, hardwood and tile floors, vaulted ceilings, and granite countertops. It all seems to add up very quickly!
I am also building a detached garage, that is coming in at around $40/sq ft with all the additional concrete work. That is just a box unfinished for most part on the inside.
I am also building a detached garage, that is coming in at around $40/sq ft with all the additional concrete work. That is just a box unfinished for most part on the inside.
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Blue Collar Guy
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MY builder must have been related to yours.
travelover
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I'm currently renting in a subdivision that is still expanding. Part of my daily walk is past what was an empty lot, but now has a house that is being sided, just two months later. It is amazing how fast they can slap one together from a generic plan. What ever happened to modular houses? That seems like such a logical alternative.
Katsmeow
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Cost is very dependent on location and what you want in the house.
But, there is no doubt that building is far expensive than simply buying a new existing house and far more expensive than an older home.
We actually bought land twice intending to build. We works on plans and spent money to get a design and both times I ended up bailing and selling the land.
Reasons we decided not to build:
1. Cost. In the second go round we were working with a builder who would custom design the home. I looked at the cost for the features we wanted. It became clear that once we added in the land, the design, etc. we would be spending over $100k more than buying a house. It was going to cost about $400k and that was making compromises on some things where I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted. (This was several years ago). While still working on the design, I started looking at existing houses for sale. I found the house we ended up buying. It overall had nicer finishes than we were going to have in the house we were building. It was a little larger. It was 5 years ago and in great condition. We paid $295,000 and sold the land and didn't build.
Do I regret it? Not really. I mean, yes, there are times that I yearn to have the exact layout that I want. I actually agree with you about living and dining rooms. Currently our dining room is an exercise room. The living room is unused 95% of the time. When we sell this house (which we will do most likely for reasons not related to the house itself), we will probably buy a smaller house and either DH or I will use the living room as an office.
There is one part of this house I don't like (master bath layout) and we originally planned to gut it and re do it. But, since we will likely sell we probably aren't going to do that.
2. The other reason for cold feet on building is knowing everything that can go wrong. I have seen horror stories in building, both financially and problems in construction. So, I am very leery of problems with building. However, I would probably research a builder carefully and chance it if it wasn't for the cost factor which I just haven't been able to get over.
Alternatives to building include to keep looking for the ideal house, buying a house that has part of what you want and remodeling to get the rest and buying a spec home under construction where a lot of work has been done and you can still make changes you want (an alternative is to buy in a subdivision where the house is not built yet but has a layout you like and you can pick out the finishes).
But, there is no doubt that building is far expensive than simply buying a new existing house and far more expensive than an older home.
We actually bought land twice intending to build. We works on plans and spent money to get a design and both times I ended up bailing and selling the land.
Reasons we decided not to build:
1. Cost. In the second go round we were working with a builder who would custom design the home. I looked at the cost for the features we wanted. It became clear that once we added in the land, the design, etc. we would be spending over $100k more than buying a house. It was going to cost about $400k and that was making compromises on some things where I wasn't getting exactly what I wanted. (This was several years ago). While still working on the design, I started looking at existing houses for sale. I found the house we ended up buying. It overall had nicer finishes than we were going to have in the house we were building. It was a little larger. It was 5 years ago and in great condition. We paid $295,000 and sold the land and didn't build.
Do I regret it? Not really. I mean, yes, there are times that I yearn to have the exact layout that I want. I actually agree with you about living and dining rooms. Currently our dining room is an exercise room. The living room is unused 95% of the time. When we sell this house (which we will do most likely for reasons not related to the house itself), we will probably buy a smaller house and either DH or I will use the living room as an office.
There is one part of this house I don't like (master bath layout) and we originally planned to gut it and re do it. But, since we will likely sell we probably aren't going to do that.
2. The other reason for cold feet on building is knowing everything that can go wrong. I have seen horror stories in building, both financially and problems in construction. So, I am very leery of problems with building. However, I would probably research a builder carefully and chance it if it wasn't for the cost factor which I just haven't been able to get over.
Alternatives to building include to keep looking for the ideal house, buying a house that has part of what you want and remodeling to get the rest and buying a spec home under construction where a lot of work has been done and you can still make changes you want (an alternative is to buy in a subdivision where the house is not built yet but has a layout you like and you can pick out the finishes).
A look at $322K
https://www.delwebb.com/homes/flori...-webb-lakewood-ranch-209449/abbeyville-685282
With nominal tweaks, small 2nd floor bedrooom/bath (no pool, no patio) the actual price is now up to $550K+. see floor plan. 1691 SF.
I live in a different world.
Home exactly like ours... 1590sf...in the $170K range... complete.
https://libertyvillageofperu.com/villas.htm
https://www.delwebb.com/homes/flori...-webb-lakewood-ranch-209449/abbeyville-685282
With nominal tweaks, small 2nd floor bedrooom/bath (no pool, no patio) the actual price is now up to $550K+. see floor plan. 1691 SF.
I live in a different world.
Home exactly like ours... 1590sf...in the $170K range... complete.
https://libertyvillageofperu.com/villas.htm
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There is an old formula based on lot cost as to value the house that "should be" built. IOW, the home that must be built to support the value of the land. Lot value = 25% of total cost. Or Lot value x 4 = Finished cost. This model gets out of whack for speial properties. And manias in the housing market. But surprisingly long lasting.
$150k lot = $600k home. Lots of variables but a rule of thumb.
I was just at a builder meeting yesterday. Talking with a bunch of trades (>10) everyone said they are short on labor. I share a yard with a concrete contractor. 30% increase in wages over 2 years. And they already paid well. He says he is still under market. Crews are getting poached
Price increases are being accepted
$150k lot = $600k home. Lots of variables but a rule of thumb.
I was just at a builder meeting yesterday. Talking with a bunch of trades (>10) everyone said they are short on labor. I share a yard with a concrete contractor. 30% increase in wages over 2 years. And they already paid well. He says he is still under market. Crews are getting poached
Price increases are being accepted
With these construction costs, I bet many homeowners are also underinsured. I raised our coverage to a value equivalent to around $200 per square foot. Our agent said it was more than the coverage most people had, but I seriously doubt our home could be rebuilt for less if it were to suffer a total loss.
