How much does it cost to build a home now?
The average cost to build a single family residence can range over a considerable amount depending on the custom features, type of construction, etc. An example of this type of fluctuating costs depending on the quality of the work involved can be seen in my page describing home improvements (you can also see the approx. cost of various type of home improvements such as adding a bedroom or bath, a kitchen remodel, etc.). New home construction can cost from $100 (in some parts of the country ) to over $300 per square foot to construct, excluding land cost. Two story homes tend to have a lower cost per square foot than single story homes. This is due to a lower roofing cost, lower foundation costs, and more efficient plumbing and heating costs, compared to a comparably sized single story home. Larger homes also tend to have lower construction cost per square foot than smaller homes. This is due to the ability to spread the higher costs for such items as the furnace, kitchen appliances, and higher finish costs for living rooms and kitchens over a larger square footage base. The cost per square foot of construction can also fluctuate widely depending on the quality of construction, the amount of finish detail, the selection of appliances, the amount of site preparation (site preparation for a hillside location will be much greater than for a flat lot), etc. The only way to effectively budget the cost of building a new home is to do a complete take-off analysis of architectural plans that are detailed and clearly call out the scope of the work, the quality of finishes and appliances to be selected, floor coverings, built-in requirements, ceiling heights, among many other factors.
