istanbul Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 How come high rises cost more than mid rise condos? High rise should cost less since same size of land is used to produce more units compared to mid rise apartments. I especially see this discrepancy in upscale communities. What gives? Is it because high rise apartments are generally more luxurious or because high rise construction itself is very costly? Just curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 How come high rises cost more than mid rise condos? High rise should cost less since same size of land is used to produce more units compared to mid rise apartments. I especially see this discrepancy in upscale communities. What gives? Is it because high rise apartments are generally more luxurious or because high rise construction itself is very costly? Just curious.The short and sweet of it is that construction costs per square foot of living space increase geometrically as additional floors are added.It has to do with the kinds of materials that can be used (wood up to 5 stories, epicore up to 8 stories, concrete beyond 8, with structural steel being rare in residential construction because of sound transmission issues); it has to do with the fact that a greater number of floors means that there has to be more vertical infrastructure, such as elevators, stairwells, plumbing/electrical/mechanical runs, etc., and that the infrastructure eats away at the efficiency of the floorplate (net rentable or saleable sq. ft. / gross sq. ft.); and another reason is that it takes longer to build taller buildings. They are also much more expensive to maintain.Hard costs on garden-style three-story apartments in Texas is about $80 per square foot, the hard cost on a four-story walk-up wrapped around structured parking is about $112 (10% more to the whole project to add a fifth story, which is usually too expensive), epicore on top of a podium of parking is probably around $140, and a highrise like Randall Davis' Titan on top of a podium of structured parking is $260. Costs have gone up dramatically over the past several years, especially with respect to concrete and steel. Wood products have moderated lately, in contrast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanith27 Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 After I had been transferred to Houston and kind of got my bearings as to where I wanted to live, I was scoping out some high rise condos in the Galleria/Memorial corridor within a specific price range thinking that exact same thing. While it wasn't hard to find my price point in that region, I was completely BLOWN away by the maintenance fees on high rises. Not just one, but all of 'em. When you calculate that extra price on top of the mortgage, and consider that you don't get the tax deduction from it....ouch! This was the building I was looking at. The price is quite manageable on a sq/ft basis, but the fees were unreal.http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...s=6&sType=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott08 Posted August 28, 2008 Share Posted August 28, 2008 After I had been transferred to Houston and kind of got my bearings as to where I wanted to live, I was scoping out some high rise condos in the Galleria/Memorial corridor within a specific price range thinking that exact same thing. While it wasn't hard to find my price point in that region, I was completely BLOWN away by the maintenance fees on high rises. Not just one, but all of 'em. When you calculate that extra price on top of the mortgage, and consider that you don't get the tax deduction from it....ouch! This was the building I was looking at. The price is quite manageable on a sq/ft basis, but the fees were unreal.http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...s=6&sType=0I've noticed that in townhouse association fees too. The new paradigm is no fees at all where the old school ones are frequently in the hundreds per month. That extra fee could buy that much more house. Must make it really hard in the resale (your example condo's fee is more than my current mortgage!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lwood Posted August 29, 2008 Share Posted August 29, 2008 After I had been transferred to Houston and kind of got my bearings as to where I wanted to live, I was scoping out some high rise condos in the Galleria/Memorial corridor within a specific price range thinking that exact same thing. While it wasn't hard to find my price point in that region, I was completely BLOWN away by the maintenance fees on high rises. Not just one, but all of 'em. When you calculate that extra price on top of the mortgage, and consider that you don't get the tax deduction from it....ouch! This was the building I was looking at. The price is quite manageable on a sq/ft basis, but the fees were unreal.http://search.har.com/engine/dispSearch.cf...s=6&sType=0If in a home you budget $100/ month to have your grass cut, $50/month for the alarm, $30/month for water, $75 per month for structure insurance, set aside $XXX/month for roof replacement every 15 years, $XXX/month to paint every 12 years and it starts to add up. IMO, considering the services you get in some high rise buildings, it's not a bad deal. Also, some buildings run their AC on a chilled water system. Your monthly electricity bill is paying just for the fan to blow over the chilled water pipes. Do a google search for Shirley Sanders, a realtor in Houston. She publishes a monthly report of all of the local high rise buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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