Building in the US

[Burba]

Just doing some homework on the topic and wondered if anyone had first hand experience?

Can't specifically find any $/ft/m2 rates on the Net so not sure what I would be looking at, although I do understand it to be cheaper.

Any help?

[steve.c]

From talking to a few builders when I was in Florida it works out around £50 psm but that is a basic build.

[cannondale]

£50/m2?

So you could build a 400m2 house for £20k?!! Surely something isn't right with that figure!!

Hope it's not just me that thinks that!!

[jeff m]

The old figure was $100-150/sqft.
Hurricans Andrew changed the price of lumber and it never went back down.
So you can ignore anything pre "Andrew" as grossly inaccurate. As mine is

I think the 50 Pounds/sqm was actually ft not metres.

[steve.c]

jeff m said:

The old figure was $100-150/sqft.
Hurricans Andrew changed the price of lumber and it never went back down.
So you can ignore anything pre "Andrew" as grossly inaccurate. As mine is

I think the 50 Pounds/sqm was actually ft not metres.

It was sq ft, appologies a slight error on my behalf

[GavinPearson]

It varies by state basically by three factors: ice, earthquake & wind resistance.

To cope with ice the foundation depth is required to be below the frost line. In Michigan, that is 42". To cope with earthquakes, tornadoes & hurricanes, the structure and nailing regimes vary by state, as do the anchoring to the foundation.

In Michigan you can build a house for $120 /sqft.

There are tables available that reflect prices state by state.

[Burba]

GavinPearson said:

It varies by state basically by three factors: ice, earthquake & wind resistance.

....

There are tables available that reflect prices state by state.

I was looking specifically at Texas but seeing that table would prove useful at comparing land vs build prices in various areas!

Where can I get hold of this from?

[Crescent Fresh]

I am located in Prosper, TX, just north of Dallas. The low quality cookie cutter tract homes can be had for ~$100/sq ft. If you find land with nearby utilities, you can have a nice custom home built from ~$120 - ~$150/sq ft. The bigger the house, the less per sq ft. You definitely want a good custom builder. We were going to get a house built, but the people we know that did it were, and still are, stressed with the process. You always go over budget, and you just have to roll with it. They are always behind schedule.

We ended up with a nice custom (for the original owner) home built in 1985, 2185 sq ft for $193,000 back in December 2006. We are very pleased with said purchase. We also have 1.01 acre with it.

[B-T]

My brother in Texas just bought a new house that is about 2600 s.f. living area for a bit under $200k. So maybe $80 per foot is the going rate. It is about double that here in south Florida. My opinion is that right now the prices are pretty good, but in a year they will be very attractive!
BT

[batman0404]

Hope I'm not too late for you to see this but I have first-hand info.

I am having a log-cabin built in the country (West of Brenham) by a local builder. I got 3 acres of land for $20k an acre, and the log cabin deal is:
$50 /sqft gets you a "weatherproof shell". i.e. roof, doors, windows, and that's about it.
$75 /sqft gets central air, water heater, finished walls (sheetrock) and floors (stained concrete - all the rage these days) electrical wiring, plumbing and so on.
$100 gets a "turnkey" home, with cabinets, bath/shower kitchen fittings, light fixtures.. just bring a bed, chairs and some food and you're home.

I went for the $75 deal as its a 2nd home and I'm pretty good at carpentry so I intend to make custom cabinets, furniture and finish the walls in cedar.

Hope this helps.