Cost for building a new home per square foot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is exactly the information that you are looking for. The company only works in Virginia, but it will give you an idea of the costs.

https://focalpointhomes.com/semi-custom/

I liked the Miriam

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

Think about impact fees, lumber, labor, etc. Those costs are going to fluctuate, particularly the last 2.

Think about electric, do you go standard or do you want to go crazy and add recess lighting everywhere, dimmers, outlets on the floor.

Think about flooring, light fixtures, appliances, cabinets, etc. I just built my home, its around 3200 square feet (unfinished basement) and I ended up at around $304 a square foot in Maryland. We went over budget on electric, cabinets and appliances.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

No way is this site accurate. We built in '14 - 5,500 sq ft (including completely finished basement) with upper tier quality for $700k. Using CPI inflation calculator, that would be roughly $920k in todays dollars. This included permits, site development, etc but does not include land acquisition cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

No way is this site accurate. We built in '14 - 5,500 sq ft (including completely finished basement) with upper tier quality for $700k. Using CPI inflation calculator, that would be roughly $920k in todays dollars. This included permits, site development, etc but does not include land acquisition cost.

Your definition of “upper tier quality” is misguided. I’m not doubting you built a home in 2014 for $700k but it was of the lowest quality. High quality in 2014 would still cost even more than your present day estimate of $920k. In fact I can build you the same sized home todsy for $700k - same size but lower grade materials. I’m the builder with the earlier post commenting we could build a 5500sqft home for the op
for est $1m building cost - but with mid to lower grade materials.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is exactly the information that you are looking for. The company only works in Virginia, but it will give you an idea of the costs.

https://focalpointhomes.com/semi-custom/

I liked the Miriam

This is one of the their custom homes, so it likely cost more to build. We saw toured before it sold and thought about submitting an offer, but it was at the VERY top of our price range. The curb appeal was like a 7/10, but the inside was a 10/10 for being welcoming and fun. The most amazing family house and had a basketball court in the basket.

https://focalpointhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/H-and-S-plans-918-Mackall-2023-08-14.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

No way is this site accurate. We built in '14 - 5,500 sq ft (including completely finished basement) with upper tier quality for $700k. Using CPI inflation calculator, that would be roughly $920k in todays dollars. This included permits, site development, etc but does not include land acquisition cost.

Your definition of “upper tier quality” is misguided. I’m not doubting you built a home in 2014 for $700k but it was of the lowest quality. High quality in 2014 would still cost even more than your present day estimate of $920k. In fact I can build you the same sized home todsy for $700k - same size but lower grade materials. I’m the builder with the earlier post commenting we could build a 5500sqft home for the op
for est $1m building cost - but with mid to lower grade materials.

And how much is profit?

[Anonymous]

Ours was pretty high end (but not the tippy top) and was about $500/sq ft plus land/site

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, this is exactly the information that you are looking for. The company only works in Virginia, but it will give you an idea of the costs.

https://focalpointhomes.com/semi-custom/

I liked the Miriam

This is one of the their custom homes, so it likely cost more to build. We saw toured before it sold and thought about submitting an offer, but it was at the VERY top of our price range. The curb appeal was like a 7/10, but the inside was a 10/10 for being welcoming and fun. The most amazing family house and had a basketball court in the basket.

https://focalpointhomes.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/H-and-S-plans-918-Mackall-2023-08-14.pdf

I have a 9 year old focal point home but that one is pricy. $4.5M all in.

[Anonymous]

Focal pointe is my favorite, but they are kind of pricey. They have very high attention to detail and quality finishes. If you are looking for something more budget friendly go with Evergreene. My favorite is also the Miriam. It has a nice layout and a lovely first floor primary bedroom. The keeping room is a great space for for a prep kitchen

[Anonymous]

MR can do one of their models for around $1.1 or so.

[Anonymous]

Did Focal Point Homes change ownership?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have a builder. We are presenting working on buying the lot and are trying to figure out what we can pay for a lot and still pay for building the house.

You’re going to have to interview builders at some point in the process. Why not start doing it now to get realistic numbers to work from. They can even give you ballparks on what the civil engineering package could cost for MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

No way is this site accurate. We built in '14 - 5,500 sq ft (including completely finished basement) with upper tier quality for $700k. Using CPI inflation calculator, that would be roughly $920k in todays dollars. This included permits, site development, etc but does not include land acquisition cost.

Your definition of “upper tier quality” is misguided. I’m not doubting you built a home in 2014 for $700k but it was of the lowest quality. High quality in 2014 would still cost even more than your present day estimate of $920k. In fact I can build you the same sized home todsy for $700k - same size but lower grade materials. I’m the builder with the earlier post commenting we could build a 5500sqft home for the op
for est $1m building cost - but with mid to lower grade materials.

And how much is profit?

That’s for you to figure out…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think $300/sq ft is in the ballpark. Really depends on the design and if you pick a standard floor plan or customize.

I am genuinely curious - Are these guys blowing smoke? What am I missing?

https://www.houzeo.com/blog/how-much-does-it-cost-to-build-a-house-maryland/

They say for a 2500 sq ft house:

" It costs $294,160 on average to build a home in Maryland. This figure can add up to $444,160 if you include land costs, excavations, permits, and other expenses. "

And, if we already have a lot, should we expect, in the ball park, $300/sq ft? (And another general question - I understand land costs being different between say, Bethesda and Clarksburg. But construction costs would be same, no?)

Thanks!

No way is this site accurate. We built in '14 - 5,500 sq ft (including completely finished basement) with upper tier quality for $700k. Using CPI inflation calculator, that would be roughly $920k in todays dollars. This included permits, site development, etc but does not include land acquisition cost.

Your definition of “upper tier quality” is misguided. I’m not doubting you built a home in 2014 for $700k but it was of the lowest quality. High quality in 2014 would still cost even more than your present day estimate of $920k. In fact I can build you the same sized home todsy for $700k - same size but lower grade materials. I’m the builder with the earlier post commenting we could build a 5500sqft home for the op
for est $1m building cost - but with mid to lower grade materials.

Actually, no it's not misguided. I would challenge you to walk through my home and say it wasn't. I did as others have advised and met with multiple builders to get a sense of their process, costs, and the quality of their product. I walked through multiple builders products to make myself a more informed consumer. In a free market, competition tends to help keep costs in check while improving quality. Sounds like you would have been a builder I would have ruled out. And no, I didn't say that it was an equal price. I said that using the CPI inflation calculator would have put it at $920k. I am fully aware that housing costs and labor don't necessarily track directly with CPI, rather I did it as a point of comparison for the OP. For example, the cost of higher education has gone up nearly twice the rate of inflation. I didn't take the time to find out the exact difference for real estate/construction, just provided it as another data point for information.

[Anonymous]

We were told not to focus very much on the "per square foot" number as the cost to create a kitchen or bathroom with plumbing, cabinetry, tiling, etc. costs a lot more than simply creating, say, a 3rd floor open loft or even a basement after it's already been dug out. When we were interviewing design build firms, they gave us an overall range (this was pre-pandemic, about 2018-19) of 100k site work on a 5,000 sq foot (tiny) and flat Bethesda lot which already had a house on it, and then building/finishing costs of about $800k. We should have done it! But at the time, that felt like a huge stretch and the logistics of moving out for almost a year, putting things in storage and renting a neighborhood house to remain in the same area were daunting. I can't imagine the prices are ever going down; I would just do the internal math of what you could buy on the market (perhaps a house redone in the past 5-10 years of the size you want?) vs waiting a year to move into your custom house, and how you would finance both situations. Bridge and construction loans are their own specific banking products and generally those lenders can talk you through the nitty gritty of how much money you need at the various checkpoints, and where you'd get that money from. I think that phone call is your best first step in realistically pulling this off. Good luck!