I know the “per square foot costs” have been discussed here before but was talking to a friend today who is part of another project and the contractor has quoted a house at $89. per sq ft. And its a not a major homebuilder.
I’m not really asking anything here just puzzled at how anyone can build a whole house so inexpensively. Concrete block, trusses, interior finishes, etc. No matter how much I pinch the numbers, I can never get that low…
Oh well….
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Please provide more details.
What type of house, foundation, size, style, # floors, yadda, yadda, yadda. And the biggie: location.
I've a cousin, he's not a builder, just an investor, and he has done some specs in Wyoming at figures like that. And that is his cost.
Go places where foundations are minimal, and you see numbers lower than that.
Hey Gene,
Tampa, Florida....single story, 2k sq ft, concrete block walls, trusses, shingle roof. 3 bed 3 bath. Standard finish. Slab on grade foundation. Nothing fancy really. I just still can't figure how they do it?
Se habla espanol. That's part of your answer.
For some wild music (provided you like music), catch the act in the ground level bistro under La Cevice restaurant in St. Petersburg. You are looking for the flamenco act, "Sombras Flamencas," and you want to catch them when they are doing it as a full 5-piece act.
i know this dude who can build luxury loft condos for under $40 a ft... but he's frick'n nuts
p
Man... he must be getting all his labor free, including all the specialty stuff.
he'd pay his labor what he's worth... but knows he can't work that cheap....
better to work free than cheap... do the guy a favor... let him owe you something.
i know this dude who can build luxury loft condos for under $40 a ft... but he's frick'n nuts
Is his name Ponyti?
I'm figuring prices of ten lofts right now. We're thinking we can market them at $100. The space is 70' x 70'. The complete shell is done. We'll have to create a false floor or bust through concrete to do the underground. I'm thinking we can do alot for $40 too. We'll have to build the party walls and 20' x 16' upper decks. The high point of the ceilings will be about 28-30'.
Fun stuff.
blue
I believe you can bust through the concrete and get your plumbing where you want it... and be more cost effective than building over... but then i like concrete for a finished floor...
you might be able to find some pics here of the deck/mezzanine (sp) second floor system i developed for my lofts... very cost effective... so much so that i've started the process of getting a pat. on it....
the rock bottom price on units such as these around here is $180sf for what looks like mass built apartments.... any character at all and you are looking at $250 to $500 a sf...
good luck with your project...
and you have to figure i work for zero... only pay i get is on a come bet... that what i build will be worth more than it cost to build... and maybe create enough income that i can start all over again and stay afloat during the next 4 yr project...
figure I'm here because i was the only one willing to live my life
p
I'm followin your lead Pony. I always said I liked your style!
blue
Pony, I'm working with a 70 x 70 arena with an attached bumpout for a stage. I've got close to 30' height tapered by a couple of feet...maybe 27 feet high at the edges.
I don't know what the archtect is going to draw, but I think I want to call the hall, if you know what I mean.
blue
It all depends on the location. I can build a house here for around 100$ a square foot including the lot. Stick framed, slab on grade, decent cabinets and trim,vinyl exterior, landscaped and all. No illegal labor either. Lot would have to be in the 10 to 15k range. I an in Alabama.
Lots for 10-15..... wow. A town lot here would cost 17 just to connect to sewer and water.
Yep, 'cross the sound there really are no 'lots' for sale. If you have 1/2 acre you are willing to sell, somebody will buy it for about $300 K and put 4 houses on it.
A 4600 sq ft 'lot' here with H2O and sewer is now in the $100 K and up range. That is over $20 sq ft for the raw land, and that is the low end. Put 3300 sq ft houses on the 4600 sq ft lot and they sell for about $500K. Total = $150 sq ft dwelling space (the 3300 sq ft counts the garage) - 'lot' =$120 sqft -- 80% or so mexican labor from what I've seen.
You could still get a 9600 sq ft lot here in 1975 for $10K. What a wonderful "gift" for some was the WA state urban growth boundary laws, while those outside that boundary are requred to keep 65% in 'natural' state, meaning you are not even supposed to walk across it.
Building permit fees in Kent WA are currently assessed on the basis of $88 sq ft, no more, no less.
Just as an example, a nice lot in an upscale new development here will retail at 40k or so. Some a little more. Those are 3 to 500k houses. There are still plenty in the 10 to 25k range but they are getting farther away from the city. You can still buy a decent 15 to 1800 sq ft house built in the 60s or 70s in a nice neighborhood for 100k give or take a few thousand. Even now anything priced fairly in the 100 to 150k range will sell quickly.
Stop, stop! Can I offer you 5 acres bare land for $400K? All you need to add is a driveway, a well, a ditch for the power and phone, a septic system, and a house.
WOW, 400k won't even get you a half acre out here (eastern LI not NYC).
But you can do the house for $80/SF, right?!
Not for profit maybe, going rate out here probably starts around $200, but can be much higher too. Do we live in the same country??
I'm just kidding. I know you posted once about the $1500-3000/SF lofts in NY and that's off the map, but building costs on LI and here are probably pretty similar. $200+/SF gets the conversation started, NIC land, utilities, road, etc.
The eastern end of Long Island, "the Hamptons", is basically an outpost of NYC. It too is off the map cost-wise, believe me. I got quotes of around $200/sf + to do the rebuild of my house that I ultimately did myself, (for more than $80/sf not incl. my labor). I know of people who have paid $500/sf for renovation work. I'm not saying it is right, just that is what it is. For comparison sake, what would it cost you to have a fresh air vent put in a fireplace. Maybe 1 hours work, 2 guys, just the vent and a pipe stub coming out of the chimney.
Here's another recent number that astounded me. The storeront below me used to be a lumber store, rented for $12K a monh 10 years ago. It is currently on the market for $45K a month. The sign went up the day before Thanksgiving, 40 applicants already, sign was taken down already. There is a bidding war going on. Landlord will probably do better than the 45K he is asking.
That will buy me a house on the beach here. Of course getting insurance on it would be a little tricky right now. Seriously, I dont know how some of you guys can afford housing in some of these places. I mean, I make a pretty good living, way above average for Alabama, and have good credit, but there is no way the bank would loan me 4 or 5 hundred thousand for a house. Even at 250k which is what an average house runs in a lot of places, I would have to cut all my other expenses to the bone and still probably couldnt do it. They have to calculate their income to mortgage percentages differently than they do here. I have relatives near Boston and they do well financially, about twice my income, but their house cost 5 times what mine did. I really cant figure it out sometimes.
I bought 3 lots in CT $15.5K but the location made the Police target range look like a quiet place for a picnic. I did flip them to another builder for double that and walked away happy.Best to you and yours, Chris.
Some say I know too much.
I think that the /sqft stuff keeps coming up because it is such an easy thing to go back and recalculate. You won't find anyone more adamant than I about "all square feet are not equal", but I, too, am trying to keep my construction costs (when finished) under a certain number "/sqft".
Like it or not, it is just the benchmark that can be used anywhere, although each area will have its own range.
It makes me feel better when I leave the land costs out. . . . .
If I were in the biz, I think the key would be (as Jerrald will affirm) a solid, fact-based understanding of your costs at all levels. Then move on to spreadsheets that allow you to quickly calculate houses based on complexity and level of finish.
My experience in designing what I felt was an "efficient to build" home was that people don't want to give you credit for saving them time or materials. They need to quote your job, do the current job, and move on to the next job. A slow housing market may change that a bit, but people still need to charge enough to eat.
The enemy of a low /sqft cost (and I mean "low" relative to your market) is a desire to exceed code or add "special touches". I think there is also a hump that you have to get over to make that dive into the "deep end of cheap" - and that is embracing newer building technologies (note I did not say newer AND better, just newer) that remove labor and materials.
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