how much does it cost to build a house?

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: Jugernot

Originally posted by: tfinch2

Originally posted by: SlickSnake
Manufactured housing is the way to go, price wise. You can go the custom path that way, too. Or you can just get a mobile home. Best deals per sq. ft. are in new or used mobile homes.

Who the fuck wants to live in a mobile home?

Modular houses are the shit.... they make $1 million module homes now that are completely put together in 1 week with only a few weeks of wiring and plumbing. They go up so fast...

Mobile home /= modular house

 

[Squisher]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
OP, If you are dreaming of building your own custom home now is not the time. Most builders have not yet come to grips with the downward trend in home sales/values and still expect a large profit. Couple this with the same over inflated expected incomes of many of the subcontractors. This means that the custom house built today is not worth what it will cost you to build it.

Buy an existing house a few years old. Right now it is a buyers market so you should have your pick and may be able to negotiate a lower price. This may be easier from a builder who has a few prebuilts and needs to sell to pay his construction loans but you will mostlikely need to find one that is willing to sell with little or no profit. Also look for relocation companies looking to sell, they too may have more units to unload than they wish and pressures not to hold on to properties.

In about 5 years, the market should have swung so that builders expectations aren't unreasonable and values are rising.

No kidding. OP, did you catch my thread about the house across the street from me? 2000-2400 sq. ft.,4 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, walk out basement, master suite, at least a hardwood entry, 3 car garage, on a 90'X130' lot. It originally sold for $299K in 2002. It sold after being unoccupied for 8 months because of foreclosure for $200K. EDIT: In fact I caught a little of it, just off to the right of my truck

 

[Throckmorton]

If rednecks keep killing illegals, it's going to get more expensive.

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

This is a city composed of about 60% mobile homes. The rest are houses. Houses can be built on the lots. Most lots are about 1/3 of an acre or more. Mine is about 1/2 acre. The city sits in the middle of a lake, on a peninsula. The property values are going up, along with the land values, since this is near a major city. I could have spent 3 or 4xs what I spent here and bought a nice mobile home already set up. Or I could have spent about 7 or 8xs what I spent and bought a small house. Obviously, I chose the cheaper path.

.. Do you live on Lake Lavon?

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

This is a city composed of about 60% mobile homes. The rest are houses. Houses can be built on the lots. Most lots are about 1/3 of an acre or more. Mine is about 1/2 acre. The city sits in the middle of a lake, on a peninsula. The property values are going up, along with the land values, since this is near a major city. I could have spent 3 or 4xs what I spent here and bought a nice mobile home already set up. Or I could have spent about 7 or 8xs what I spent and bought a small house. Obviously, I chose the cheaper path.

.. Do you live on Lake Lavon?

Nope. Eagle Mountain Lake. I'm sitting in the middle of the Barnett Shale gas deposit.

 

[Oceandevi]

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

This is a city composed of about 60% mobile homes. The rest are houses. Houses can be built on the lots. Most lots are about 1/3 of an acre or more. Mine is about 1/2 acre. The city sits in the middle of a lake, on a peninsula. The property values are going up, along with the land values, since this is near a major city. I could have spent 3 or 4xs what I spent here and bought a nice mobile home already set up. Or I could have spent about 7 or 8xs what I spent and bought a small house. Obviously, I chose the cheaper path.

.. Do you live on Lake Lavon?

Nope. Eagle Mountain Lake. I'm sitting in the middle of the Barnett Shale gas deposit.

pretty area. get mineral rights?

 

[SlickSnake]

Originally posted by: Oceandevi

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: SlickSnake

This is a city composed of about 60% mobile homes. The rest are houses. Houses can be built on the lots. Most lots are about 1/3 of an acre or more. Mine is about 1/2 acre. The city sits in the middle of a lake, on a peninsula. The property values are going up, along with the land values, since this is near a major city. I could have spent 3 or 4xs what I spent here and bought a nice mobile home already set up. Or I could have spent about 7 or 8xs what I spent and bought a small house. Obviously, I chose the cheaper path.

.. Do you live on Lake Lavon?

Nope. Eagle Mountain Lake. I'm sitting in the middle of the Barnett Shale gas deposit.

pretty area. get mineral rights?

Wish I had. But when I bought this property, they were not available. The most I would have gotten for a lease would have been $300 a year, though. Not even enough to pay the property taxes. And then no royalties unless they actually drilled under my property, which would be unlikely where I am located. Most people around me do not have mineral rights. I believe the original rancher who subdivided and sold all the lots 30 years ago before the city was formed retained the majority of the rights. Only a few property owners who bought directly from this rancher got those rights. Most the properties were sold in bulk lots to various real estate speculators 30 years ago, and no mineral rights were conveyed.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: mattpegher
OP, If you are dreaming of building your own custom home now is not the time. Most builders have not yet come to grips with the downward trend in home sales/values and still expect a large profit. Couple this with the same over inflated expected incomes of many of the subcontractors. This means that the custom house built today is not worth what it will cost you to build it.

Buy an existing house a few years old. Right now it is a buyers market so you should have your pick and may be able to negotiate a lower price. This may be easier from a builder who has a few prebuilts and needs to sell to pay his construction loans but you will mostlikely need to find one that is willing to sell with little or no profit. Also look for relocation companies looking to sell, they too may have more units to unload than they wish and pressures not to hold on to properties.

In about 5 years, the market should have swung so that builders expectations aren't unreasonable and values are rising.

I don't know where you are getting most builders from...I work for a top 10 National builder and no one in the industry we know of is not blowing things out on fire sale.

Now while some houses are sold for a net out amount, no one is in the business to lose money. We get many 'buyers' thinking they will help us out by taking a $500k home and offering $100k on it thinking that's all it cost to build and still allows one a profit.

Many of the big builders don't need to sell their spec homes/models to cover construction loans...this is what the small fish do.

 

[NoShangriLa]

That is quite a general question.

Depends on the factor below:
1. Labour cost varies from town to town.
2. Size of house.
3. Single level or multiple level.
4. Finish slab basement or crawlspace.
5. Style of house.
6. Finishing look/material.
7. Number of bathrooms and finish/size.
8. Kitchen finishing/size.
9. Number of windows.
10. Garage size/attach/detach.
11. Custom or kit house.
12. Type of heating/ac.
13. Type of ground that it will be built on.

14. Deck or no deck.
15. Driveway length/size and material.

For my area kit home or suburbia cookie cutter house range from $160-$175 a foot for a moderate 2 & 3 level finish basement home.

Custom home that I have worked on range from $350-$1700 a foot.

 

[AUMM]

I am a land developer and in OC we build single family homes for approx 150/sq ft, this includes EVERYTHING.... I would think in Texas it would be considerably cheaper but we also build multiple homes at the same time

 

[AUMM]

also, just wanted to add, you need an architect for a LOT more than simply the layout of the house....