thinking of building

[texasblum]

My wife and I want to move from our small home in Bellaire to a larger home. We really like Spring Valley, but homes seem to be pretty pricey. New homes are very expensive, but we don't really like the older ones. We're thinking of building. Does anyone know the psf cost to build a decent new home. We wouldn't go to extravigant, but we would want things like granite kitchen countertops, and brick exterior.

Also, what are thoughts on the area just between Westview and Long Point, and even just north of Long Point?

thanks

[lwood]

My wife and I want to move from our small home in Bellaire to a larger home. We really like Spring Valley, but homes seem to be pretty pricey. New homes are very expensive, but we don't really like the older ones. We're thinking of building. Does anyone know the psf cost to build a decent new home. We wouldn't go to extravigant, but we would want things like granite kitchen countertops, and brick exterior.

Also, what are thoughts on the area just between Westview and Long Point, and even just north of Long Point?

thanks

One year ago my construction costs were about $130/sq. ft. by a well known custom builder. If you would like opinions on the builder, please PM me. I was happy with them.

[gwilson]

$130 a foot would build a very nice house.

Projects I am working on range from $80 a foot to $180 a foot (the latter being the luxury custom end of the spectrum). You can build a nice house for $85 - $95 a foot if you have the right contractor/manager and they have the right relationships and you don't go over the top with finishes.

Building will almost always be cheaper than buying. For the same retail price you would pay to a builder you could build a lot more house if you built.

The mistake a lot of people make when trying to achieve these savings is going with a retail builder (KB, Lennar, David Weekly, etc). You have to keep in mind, building with them is the same thing as buying a house they just finished building. They aren't going to pass much, if any, savings on to you. They are selling a retail product, whether you are involved in the design process or not.

If you were to hire a cost-plus or flat fee contractor/project manager, and that person had strong relationships with contractors and vendors, you could build a better product for a better price and get exactly what you want.

A general comparisson to give you some reference if it helps:

Luxury custom home in Carlton Woods (7,800 sqft)

Retail Price: $2,495,000 ($319 sqft)

Cost: $1,521,000 ($195 sqft) (+ $185,000 for the lot when it was purchased which makes it $219 sqft total)

That is a $124-100 per foot price difference.

[jgs1419]

A general comparisson to give you some reference if it helps:

Luxury custom home in Carlton Woods (7,800 sqft)

Retail Price: $2,495,000 ($319 sqft)

Cost: $1,521,000 ($195 sqft) (+ $185,000 for the lot when it was purchased which makes it $219 sqft total)

That is a $124-100 per foot price difference.

I don't totally disagree with your point but it seems that your example ignores many of the soft costs associated with building, most notably interim financing.