Just curious... cost to build going up or down?

16 years ago

We started investigating our building project in 2003; got our first quote in 2005 ($155 sq. ft.); finally built in 2007 (about $115 sq. ft.) Cost to build the house was about $290,000 - does NOT include the cost of the land or the landscaping.

I'm curious about custom building costs today. DH and I both feel like we could have saved about 10% if we waited until this year. But we might be wrong. Have prices gone down? Gone up? I'm curious about what people are observing during this slow down. Certainly spec homes cost less but what about custom homes?

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Comments (5)

karnog
16 years ago
Where are you located? My wife and I are building in eastern Massachusetts, which I believe is a higher cost area compared to most areas in the US, and for us it is costing $150/sq. ft.
mikeyvon
16 years ago
Cost to build in Cali is going up. Most everything save lumber is more expensive. Have you tried buying a roll of romex lately?
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bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz
16 years ago
According to a recent (April '08, I think) article in Money magazine, the cost of building materials is falling. I don't recall the exact numbers but I think I recall seeing numbers like: lumber costs down 18%, sheetrock costs down 40%, roofing costs down 25%, etc.

Even if I hadn't read the Money magazine article, it make sense to me that under the law of supply and demand, prices should be falling for building materials.

With mortgage loan money getting harder and harder to qualify for - and loads of repossessed home on the market relatively cheap - fewer new homes are going to be started. That means there is less demand for building products now than before the mortgage mess hit and the demand is likely to continue falling until at least some of the excess inventory (i.e., repossessed homes) is sold off. Less demand for builing materials ought to result in lower prices as suppliers try to sell their product to fewer buyers.

Likewise, with fewer homes being built, labor costs should come down as laborers compete for a share of a decreasing market for their services.

Admittedly, the drop in prices due to decreased demands may be offset somewhat by rising transportation costs but, despite how it feels at the pump, I don't think transportation costs have risen enough to out-pace the effects of falling demand. Overall, I think Money magazine probably got it right. Besides, I find their research to be pretty reliable.
redlodger
16 years ago
Here in south central Montana the prices are staying pretty steady. We haven't been hit by the current real estate debacle, as we're a pretty conservative bunch out here. One year ago, when our builder took our house out to bid, the price was about $125 sq ft for a "parade of homes" quality home. When we start our build next August I hope the price will at least stay steady. I know that the cost of the materials have gone down and, considering my vested interest, I hope they stay that way for a while.
chisue
16 years ago
We built in a northern Chicago suburb in 2001. We are now insured for a third over our building cost. (Building cost includes crawls added to teardown basement, terraces and driveway. Policy ignores concrete.)

Land cost has increased by more than a third. RE taxes have more than doubled!

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Just curious... cost to build going up or down?

Comments (5)

karnog

mikeyvon

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bevangel_i_h8_h0uzz

redlodger

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