Dh and I are thinking of building our next home (probably a couple of years away) but are *completely* ignorant about the whole process! I've been viewing home plans online to get ideas and I was wondering if any of you knew if there's a way to get a *general* idea of pricing for a certain square foot home? Like an all brick 2200 sq.ft house with a 3-car garage...is there someplace you can see where that would cost between x and x$ to build? I know it's very individualized.
We're looking to buy a lot and pay it off before building but want to get some ballpark $ ideas for the house itself.
Have any of you built your homes? Was it a good experience? We know lots of people that have built in our area so we will get referrals for builders, but I just want to get a price range. If the type of house we want is not even in our ballpark then we can forget the idea right now, you know?? Thank you!!! -Deanna

By Colette on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 05:17 pm:

I would really think about the things you want in your house, types of siding, flooring, what kind of heat do you want, etc. and then hire an architect to design it.

Then you take the plans to various general contractors and they will give you a written quote.

By Missmudd on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 05:30 pm:

That and how much are you willing to do yourself, will you paint it, put in the landscaping, some of the plumbing? I knew someone who did this a while back and I think it was around $40,000 but her husband and her fil did almost all the work.

By Vicki on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 05:34 pm:

I don't think there is a way to get a "ball park" idea of a price. It really does vary so much between builders. What I would do if I were you...start going to some builders! Most of them (at least in my area) have model homes. You can go there and get papers and such on layouts, what is included in the build price, what is not included and a price. Some builders figure cement driveways as part of the price, some don't. Some things are standard with one builder and considered upgrades to another. I think it varies way to much for a ball park.

By Conni on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 08:11 pm:

Around here we get a *ballpark* by calling a local builder and asking how much housing are being built per square foot... You can get a general idea from that at what you are looking at paying. Of course you know the final price all depends on how you finish out your home...

Not all builders of course charge the same price so call several.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 08:40 pm:

Conni- that sounds like the best way to even get an *idea*, although like everyone has said it will all ultimately depend on what we want. I hadn't thought of doing that. I'll try it!

By Breann on Thursday, March 10, 2005 - 09:01 pm:

You CAN get a ballpark figure on building a home. Call a local contractor, or the contractors association (their number is in magazines with homeplans) and ask them the approximate price per square foot of home in your specific area.
We did this when we were getting ready to build and it was very helpful.
Also, you can look at comparable newly built homes that are for sale. See what they are selling for. That will give you an idea as well.
It's the little things that add up. The fixtures, the appliances, the types of interior doors that you want.
But, the contractor should be able to tell you what their base price is. They will probably have several home plans that they rebuild frequently and will have prices on them. That should also help!

By Feona on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 06:14 am:

I called a local builder and got a ball park.... you know ... it was ridiculous the price... like 300,000 plus. Long Island is ridiculous.

By Vicki on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 07:51 am:

I guess it depends on how big of a ball park you want! LOL I know when we built, our ball park number increased by thousands by the time we were finished with upgrades, changes etc. I guess I don't consider that a ball park as much as a guess. LOL Good luck! I think building was fun!!

By Meltonmom on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 11:17 am:

It depends on where you are building. My DH was as paint contractor in the suburbs of Atlanta for many years before he became a cable tech and he bidded residentials at $3 per square foot and that was just painting. So, with woodwork, carpentry, brick or stucco...hmmmm....maybe $9 or $10 per square foot?

That would put a 4000 sq ft home at about 40,000 to build? Would that be right? :-)

By Debbie on Friday, March 11, 2005 - 11:20 am:

My parents had a home built last year. They got bids from 4 different builders. The prices varied greatly. It is really going to depend on the builder and what extras you want. I would think that it would be really hard to get an idea unless you actually sat down with some builders and told them what you wanted.

By Feona on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 05:53 am:

I doubt a new 4000 square house would cost 40,000 to build....

You need to ask around. Even in atlanta... It must be over 200,000.... (In new york it would be like 400,000....)

By Karen~moderator on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 09:04 am:

I read something in our local paper recently that a guide for new home prices was something like $70 to $90 a square foot - that was all materials and labor provided by the contractor. Ask a contractor for a price per square foot for materials only, and a price per square foot for materials and labor.

By Reds9298 on Saturday, March 12, 2005 - 08:37 pm:

Around here I think it's going to be between 150-200K....but I want to know that for sure. I don't want to be way off!!! I'm going to call around - thanks for all of the good ideas!