I have a prospective design client. Currently living 20 mi south of SF. Expects their 900 sf house will sell for 350-450k. [Wow…here it’d get 100-125!] They want to build in the mountains near San Andreas or Angel’s Camp.
Anyone have a clue about the cost of construction there vs their current location? I’m trying to figure out what they can get for their money before pursuing the project.
Replies
the answer is simple, go on line and look at the houses listed in the realestate section for the town you're interested in.. that should give you an accurite idea of costs involved. I realize you were looking for a number like $150.00 a square foot, etc. but trust me, you won't get one.. At least not one that is valid...
No, not looking for an sf number. I know as well as anyone how that changes depending on details. And existing house prices include land and such that masks the cost of construction.But I'm thinking it might be possible that someone will be able to say "you'll get twice the house in the eastern sierras that you will in San Mateo" for example. Or half. Or have a comparison of new const to existing prices in that area. Someone who lives and builds there might have a good idea of local dynamics and economics.
Here is an online building cost etimator that you can plug in the area. And when it is done it spits out cost for major phases of the contrustion.Try doing it for a couple of different areas.http://building-cost.net/
Edited 12/28/2004 4:38 pm ET by Bill Hartmann
Forget sumptin?
No, I always do that do see if anyone is reading my messages <G>
He's ALIVE!!!
What did you do with the real frenchy? He would know there is a big difference between cost and selling price.
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
I'm still here, just not able to log on very much lately , between work (for a living) and work (On my timberframe) Spare time is becoming rare..
Yes I do understand the differance but I forgot how exact some people like their answers.. Sorry,.. I tried a simple answer to what I foolishly assumed was a simple question..
Just yanking your chain. glad you're back
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Cloud,
For a general idea go to Realtor.com. This is the realtor's national site for homes for sale. You can search by zip code or town name.
http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListings.asp?locallnk=yes&frm=bymap&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnprice=0&mxprice=99999999&js=off&pgnum=1&lnksrc=&fid=so&mnsqft=0&mls=xmls&areaid=5125&typ=1&poe=realtor&exft=inewhome&ct=Angels+Camp&st=CA&sbint=&vtsort=
Mike K
Amateur Home Remodeler in Aurora, Illinois
Cloud --
I live about 20 miles south of SF, and have good friends who live near San Andreas. First, I'm surprised your clients will only get 350-450K for their house. Around me, it seems everything is much more expensive than that. Second, the cost of building in Calaveras county is much less than in the Bay area. Rural 20 acre parcels can be had for $100K. Of course, you have to put in your own well and septic, and maybe a road, but still...! Building permits cost much less than in the Bay area too. And wages are lower. The one way to jack the building cost there is to use construction techniques which require workmen to come from someplace else. For instance, granite counter installers come from Sacramento or the Bay area, so you pay for a couple-hundred mile round trip in addition to your counters. I dunno where you'd get builders who know about residential reinforced concrete.
The big caution about the Sierra foothills is fire. Every summer brings multiple big forest fires. For instance, in 2001, in the region you cite, there were two fires larger than 5000 acres. Check out the state department of forestry's site -- http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/fire_er_histstats.php. If I were building there, I'd design the building and the site with serious fire resistance in mind.
Now THIS is what keeps me at BT....and y'all thought it was just the good-looking wimin!Client will actually get closer to 600, I just learned. After land, utilities, etc, she expects to have 350-450 for new house. That's the first number she told me and I assumed it was the selling price of the house. Silly me. 400 for 900 sf IS ridiculous. 600 makes much more sense. Actually, it's good thinking on her part, be/c most people only think of house costs, and seem to assume land, utilities are kinda incidental. She's planning for them.I will heed your precaution about fire. Perhaps if we do this one, we'll coat the outside with shotcrete. Normally don't, but this might be the smart exception to that.Thank you Jamie!And thanks, too, Bill. I'll check out the link.
I was very surprised at your first post and wanted to know where you could get a 900 sqf house for 450 anywhere near the bay area. I would guess that 600 is still a low price for 20 miles So, of SF.
take a look at this beauty roughly 20 miles south of SF
600K for a lovely 720 ft2
http://realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=1&locallnk=yes&frm=bymap&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&mnprice=600000&mxprice=900000&js=off&pgnum=1&fid=so&mnsqft=&mls=xmls&areaid=24458&typ=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5%2C+6%2C+7&poe=realtor&ct=Redwood+City&st=CA&vtsort=on&presort=vtsort&sid=04058678B016C&snumxlid=1042515795&lnksrc=00001
That price is sick. Wow.
Cloud, were you implying that it was a sick bargain? A steal? It's under $1000/sf man!I remember during the dot com madness a house in the same area (Palo Alto actually) - 600sf sold for $970K. A bargain $1616 / sfI remember another sale - 900 sf for $1.2 million.And to think my boss remembers the day when Palo Alto was full of retired pastors because it had a nice climate and was affordable. Some of those pastors must have died rich.
You may find this difficult to believe, but the home in your listing is in a neighborhood which is among the least expensive in the area.
yep... i believe it...
born and raised here... rwc has a wide range of price ranges, and its really interesting to see that area of rwc commanding those types of prices...
i guess we were 'lucky' when my fiance and i got in 2.5 years ago in the 480 range, west of alameda for 3/2 thats needs some freshing up... based on selling prices in the neighborhood recenetly, i think we could get 700+ quite easily...
its really crazy when i think about it... but i guess all these years on the penisula have numbed me...
whereabouts are you jamie?
Edited 1/7/2005 5:14 pm ET by oak
Aside from what you'll get from real estate listings, here's some anecdotal stuff.
- concrete in Oakhurst (small town 1 hr from Fresno): about $95/yd
- concrete where I am (another hour from Oakhurst on windy roads, probably more like 1:15 or more for the concrete truck): $138/yd
You probably will be in seismic zone 3 (better than say LA) but will still have low snow loads. Where I am, snow loads are 120-150psf, but down at Angel's Camp, they're probably more like 20-30 psf (just guessing). That means that, unlike much of CA, you may be able to build without getting an engineer's stamp (count on roughly $2/sf in seismic or mountain areas).
I can also throw some "sq ft" numbers out, for what it's worth. Not sure if any of this will equate to your situation even remotely, but at least these two concern similar environments to Angel's Camp (CA foothills, but low enough not to be real snowy - we, on the other hand, got 3 feet in the last couple of days and they forecast another 2 for tomorrow).
- stick-frame panelized house, about 3000sf, generally pretty nice (decent interior finishes, large decks, probably roughly similar to Angel's Camp, but actually near Coarsegold). Owner is building for $85/sf or so he says. Assume that when it's all done it will be a bit more than that.
- Builder in Coarsegold builds stick frame, but with lots of exposed beams. They build for about $125/sf - cathedral ceilings, lots of wood, but not high grade cabinets or flooring at that price. They will build with truss roof for somewhat less.
Friends of friends, family members and acquaintances who build in CA in either the cities or the mountains will not remotely approach these prices, but I assume you know that.
I'm not sure what the local labor market is in Angel's Camp. A major problem the guy up the street ran into (a professional contractor who was GCing his own house) was simply finding people who would show up to work. They'd sign on, but then just quit showing up as soon as they found another job closer to where they live. No call, nothing.
cloud.....If you want Email me and I'll give you my daughters phone number.
Her husbands parents and brothers built some pretty fantastic houses on some pretty incredable property about two hours north of SF....they "just" did it about a year ago.
I was to both places and it was "incredable".
You can see one of them...where Niko got married at the parents house/property on the website they had for the wedding http://WWW.NIKOANDCALEB.COM its the house withte pool on one side.
The house wasn't huge but a good size and built with total craftsmanship IMO.
View ImageThere is no parking at the wedding site. We have organized wedding shuttle vans to transport everyone to and from the site. We will be updating where to meet the wedding shuttle vans. It will be about 10 minutes from the wedding site. More information and a map to come.
We will be sharing our vows on the side of the Hog Heaven slope overlooking Sonoma Valley.
Be well
a
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
When we meet, we say, Namaste'..it means..
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
Edited 1/2/2005 8:43 am ET by Andy Clifford(Andybuildz)