Because no one wants to live in Youngstown. After the steel mills left, there's no work in that area. It's really a depressed town. Most of the northern half of Ohio is hard pressed for jobs since it lost so much manufacturing and the auto companies closed up shop. There's not many higher paying jobs. A lot of people are struggling and there's a boat load of forclosed and empty houses all over the place.

Even in good times, the Calif and Fla markets were always more expensive because those areas are hot areas where people are constantly flowing in and competing for housing. Not many people compete to live in snow country.

Everything is more in CA. Luckly for those of that live here, usually salaries are higher also. In most areas of CA you would be hard pressed to find a 1/2 acre lot for under $125K.

I am sure TX has exploded since, but I remember wanting to move there (almost did) from CA to get me a large house on a several acres for what a townhouse would cost in Sacramento, CA. That was 15 years ago though. Good for me that a friend reminded me how great most everything in CA is (except the cost of living).

Just a related comment regarding varying prices: Around Atlanta, GA the big production builders routinely get about $100K additional for their identical house if it is built on the north side of town versus anywhere else. Regardless of how big the house is. Realtors say it simply reflects the difference in cost of the land. Might be true. Resale houses run about that same price differential--it's just hard to be sure. But the identical Model, same builder. You can make a clear comparison.

Also, people are willing to pay more to live in the northern suburbs because schools are better, crime is lower, parks are better, etc. Better quality of life.

Obviously a lot of things are figured into the market price of a house other than the building itself. Interesting.

I hope this is on topic enough... :)

Pinktoes,
You have touched on something that I always find intriguing...

"Obviously a lot of things are figured into the market price of a house other than the building itself. Interesting."

When you are building a custom home on your own land how much do those 'things' affect the price you pay, on a fixed price contract for example? The area where we have owned property for 13 years has become 'trendy' and new construction prices reflect that. If a builder constructs a home on spec then it makes sense that it will be priced based on local comps...but if it is a custom build do those local comps also affect the price?

For example, the house costs X, plus I need to make Y, and the market prices are higher than that so I can add on some more... Or is it a matter of the house costs X plus I need to make Y so the final price is: $ X + Y?

We spoke with one builder who builds spec and custom, his prices per sf are about the same-based on apples to apples as far as the house goes, in other words if the spec house is 600k and the land is 150k he will build that house for you for 450k on your land. That keeps his pricing 'consistent' for his customers, but as a person wanting custom vs spec we have to ask...what about the realtor's 5%? what about the carrying costs you won't have on our build? So, this guy would not be a good fit for us, but some people would be ok with his pricing I suppose as their home would price out 'comparable' to others.

California varies state wide similar to pinktoes example of atlanta.In pasadena a 1950's bungalow 2br,1ba can go for over seven figures, where a similar house here in the mojave will go for 200k.

What i have trouble understanding is material costs.Builders will charge 400s.f in one area, where the same footprint will be built for 200s.f in other areas. For the most part, the material costs are the same.Im setting this example excluding land costs.

I saw one mention recently somewhere here about "zipcoding", meaning that distributors will charge a higher price for the same materials if delivering to a zip code where the market will bear it. But there was no further explanation.

I would not be at all surprised. Retailers do it all the time. I was always surprised at the variation within one grocery store chain for the same item depending on the neighborhood. I had to leave my neighborhood and drive a few miles to afford the food!

On another subject, I would not be surprised to see a builder who does both spec and custom building charge more for the identical--identical!--house built custom. One, because he can get more (he's in business to maximize profit, not engage in social work). And two, because he's going to have more time in the custom house. Time being money for him in a major way. Can you imagine what a PITA we all are for a builder? We can justifiably be charged a premium as a PITA factor.

We ran into this situation....same house, same builder, only variable was location, location, location (meaning which county, which school district, and even within the same school district how easy access is to major highways for commute!!). Cheapest base price was around 250K and highest was around 400K!!!! And guess what we ended up with....aaaaarrrrgggg!

"What i have trouble understanding is material costs.Builders will charge 400s.f in one area, where the same footprint will be built for 200s.f in other areas."

You have to factor in labor costs. There was an article in (I think) the NYT the other day (or maybe USA Today?). Anyway, they mentioned the cost of labor in some higher cost areas. Nantucket is an exaggerated version of what happens in other areas. You want to build an addition and find out it will cost $300 per square foot. Yes, ferrying the materials over is part of that. But another part of it is the cost of labor. In a lower priced area there is lower priced housing available for workers. But on Nantucket even and entry level house is expensive, so the carpenter demands more money, and he gets it.

Now, if you live in an expensive area but a less expensive area is within commuting distance, there is a place for the workers to live. You might get zip coded a little, but you aren't paying a higher amount because the plumber can't find a place for less than $400k. In places where cheaper places are far enough away that the workers need to live in the more expensive areas, you end up paying a higher amount per hour for that plumber. San Fran, for example.

Sorry I'm rambling, I'm tired. Basically, the price difference between some places is sometimes partially caused by the difference in the cost of labor. There are other factors, of course, but labor cost is a factor.

Just another thought since I'm not an expert on building in CA or FL, but I would guess that the house in CA requires some additional engineering and materials to better protect it during an earthquake. In FL I believe they have some additional costs due to the potential for hurricanes.

Earthquakes do have something to do with it, but it's truly because of labor costs + what the market will bear. Definitely 'zip-coding' will make a difference. Darn that Google! Wish I worked there!! :)

Labor costs makes sense,sue. Subs in the 400s.f area would get more than a sub in the 200 s.f area.Thanks.

I live in California so I can say it -- because Californians are stupidly accepting these ridiculous prices, grabbing at loans that are 10X their gross salary and just being silly about this whole mess. So, your answer . . . people and businesses will do what they can get away with. And the people of California or easy to scam. Just through out . . . earthquake, labor, insurance and "everyone wants to live here - you are so privileged" and they suck it up like juicy candy. Yeah, I said it, someone has to.

In addition to labor difference, government fees are different as well. Recently in FL the fees to build a new house have been going up even tho real estate is not moving like it did couple of years ago.

I live in California, fortunately and unfortunately. I hate to tell suppliers where I live because I hear the dollar cha chings start to pile up.
Even in the area I live, I do not tell people exactly what area because of the extreme price differences. I hate it. I can't stand the fact that my friend in Memphis can get her floors installed and refinished, in the exact same manner I want my floors, yet she pays 1/4 the price I will get charged. It is the reason my home will cost me 3 times the price her home will. Will the market bear it for resale? Who knows that answer, but I can't help thinking we are taken for a ride with these price variances.
Thanks for this thread and letting me vent a bit :)

I am pretty sure CA and FL are safe bets even with the high prices. They will remain very popular places to live and real land will always be vauled high. With growing populations folks have to live somewhere. Land prices will continue to go up. It is the law of supply and demand.

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yea, theres more engineering in the slabs in califoria.

And considerably more time to dril anchor bolts. hehehe

Rollie, as a complete CA homebuilding newbie, please enlighten me...what the heck are those things supposed to be anchored to? I keep picturing tent stakes, but you don't drive 20 ft stakes into the ground to attach these things to, so what DOES happen? Uh Oh, I'm in deep trouble...I want to build on a slope! Arggg...

The cables are "tendons" in a post tension slab.

Cables are poured in a plastic sheath which allows the cables to be stretched later. After the slab has cured to 75% of compressive strength they cables are stretched to 25,000 lbs of pressure on the cables. After tightening, the slab is then in compression, acting as a single unit, rather than segments between cracks.

rollie, hey, that looks like my old 'hood in socal!

I hear you guys on the california price tag issue. We moved from SoCal to Kentucky and as we were interviewing builders we hated for them to see our California license plate. One builder even said tha nerve to say, "Oh, you won't have sticker shock because you're from California." And then he proceeded to quote us a price for our house that was 70% more than anyone else (and 70% more than what we built it for.) Did he think we were stupid? Apparently.

thanks, rollie! Sigh...can't WAIT to see what my structural engineer will come up with. At least that part of the cost I can accept...it's the other zip-coding stuff that's just so silly!

KYgirl...you're so lucky you had other choices! Congrats again on finishing!

Kygirl99.

That subdivision is in Murietta Ca.

I was there visiting and had never seen anything like that. Especially the anchor bolts! It seems like they anchor it down so much, that there is no value left in the bottom plates. They also use anchors on the bolts, that strap up onto the studs.

rollie, well, murrieta wasn't too far from where I lived. my last home was in Corona, which is about 35 miles north of Murrieta. all the subdivisions practically look alike in inland socal. my dh worked for a major home developer there, D.R. Horton, but I never did see our previous home during construction so I didn't see how they did the foundation.

...and because folks are moving to North Carolina from California, NY and NJ....the prices here have been going up steadily! That's what we get for making it on those "Best Places to Live" lists! There have been interviews/articles in the paper where folks from those other states talked about how much more/bigger/better/newer you can get here versus where they came from...and, they are telling all their friends and relatives.

My best friend in Berkeley was stunned when she saw a photo of our new house on 4.5 acres...but her 1920's bungalow on a tiny lot will sell for more than our entire place. I guess that's why the show "What You Get for the Money" is popular (but they need to update it with NEW prices).

Cameron

Same phenomenon here in Atlanta, GA and has been this way at least 20 years. DH worked where people got moved around and he knew everybody's salaries. People moving here from NY, CA, actually almost anywhere else it seemed, bought big-butt houses and I said "how do they do that?" They said they could hardly spend all the money out of their former houses.

But--shhhhhh--don't tell anybody. Actually, the secret is out, but for CA and NY and now NW coast move here and into mansions. But not intown. Intown is very pricey for small, older homes on tiny lots.