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Building a Home

How can I find estimated cost per sqft to build a home

14 years ago

My home insurance has stated that the replacement value for my home is low. They raised the value 20% based on a higher cost per square foot to rebuild the home. Is there a place I could go to see what the estimated cost per square foot is to replace a home in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.

Comments (11)

macv
14 years ago
Google RS Means Residential Cost Data in both square foot and unit formats. They provide tables for location adjustments.
terry_t
14 years ago
RS Means is a very good source but you should also confirm what level of finish your insurance co. is basing their assessment on. Are they basing their value on your specific house or on an average builder grade house? $$$/sq ft is a nebulous concept as it all depends on your finish products. Higher end products such as granite vs countertops, stone tile, 3/4" hardwood flooring, pro appliances, masonry fireplace, and so on, all contribute to raising the sq foot costs.
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Wow! $75/sq. ft. is amazing! With no hired help you can't do it where I am for less than $150/sq. ft. and that's with the bottom of the barrel finishes! I want to chime in that you can see some really good savings with an owner-build, especially if you're willing to put in the sweat labor. I cut my costs in half, essentially building a stunning house that I never could have afforded for $180k. Granted, I gave up my free time, social life and sanity for it. But it can be done. Just know what you're good at and what you're not. Plus, I HIGHLY recommend making a REALLY strong starting budget and DO NOT WAIVER! I went over when I fell in love with things like steam showers and in-floor heat. Budget, budget, budget.
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You want real world numbers, then you have to do real world footwork. Yes, it's more work than typing a question on the net. But actually building is 3000x the work of armchair building. Cost to build is location specific. Even neighborhood specific. As a very rough guide, take the price of existing homes at a finish level that you would buy and times that time 1.5 to 2. Building a complicated and upgraded home like you show above would be nearer the 2. A lot of people don't have the discernment to judge the actual level of trim that a home has, but this isn't the usual midgrade trimmed out house. It's not upper end, but there are several upper end choices. Say upper midgrade for the most part with a few upper end choices in key areas. The bathroom shown not only has natural stone, but in a complex tiled pattern plus upgraded plumbing fixtures which equal an upgraded water heater and water delivery system. That's just a single piece of the puzzle. The couple of things that jump out at me compared to the level of the rest of the house is the roof and the kitchen. It really needs an architectural shingle with more relief to it in order to do the home's facade justice. They cheaped out there. But, that's only maybe a 10K-15K "savings" in the overall cost. The kitchen's basic design is poor, and the quality of cabinetry and appliances isn't the greatest either. It has some of the "look" but not the quality. Probably only someone in the trade sees those details though, and the vast majority of homeowners wouldn't understand the difference. Likely Chinese built cabinetry. Definately builder group A granite and box store quality tiles. So, a 25K kitchen rather than the 40-50K kitchen that would be expected.
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Price per/sq ft is rough estimate. Let's say basement: -excavate -footers -gravel -pre-plumbing -poly -walls ln ft -corners -flatwork -proofing Each item adds $/sq ft. So let's say 23$/sq ft. Finishing of that space is nowhere near as expensive as finishing the kitchen with the cabinets. Garage space is ~ cheap. Foundations and roofs are expensive. Two stories are cheaper. Costs depends on soooo many variables it is difficult to predict. With windows - sky is the limit. One can buy $100 WOW window or $1000 Ultrex. Carpets vs wood floors, deep houses can require expensive joists,steel because of span. Same with complex roofs. it is complex to nail down the price. Software helps. But you have to know how to use it. Some software underestimates, other overestimate the cost. House like you designed it most likely will cost $350 with full foundation.
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stash-hdy
Original Author
14 years ago
Terry thanks for the level of finish comment. I'm meeting with the insurance co this afternoon and I will test their assumptions. There value comes out to $96 per square foot up 23% from last year. Googled and found many articles that support this increase all from insurance companies.
sue36
14 years ago
Insurance replacement is higher than the cost to build new. You need to factor in tear down, disposal of waste, etc.
nycefarm_gw
14 years ago
You shouldn't have to rebuild the foundation or footers...
stash-hdy
Original Author
14 years ago
Met with the agent, the level of finish used was standard. What I did find was that the program they use is based on a square footage cost for the area, $96 per sq ft. Played with options and moved the assessment very little. The agent had to use the number the program generated. Next steps????

Thanks for all the input.
sue36
14 years ago
After a complete fire loss you do need to replace the foundation or footers.
macv
14 years ago
Demolition and disposal are not major expenses and houses rarely burn to the ground so replacement cost should not be as much as new construction which is why the rate is $96/s.f. That wouldn't build much in the Boston area.
stash-hdy
Original Author
14 years ago
Dallas has always been known for homes that are cheaper to build. When I bought the home in 1995 the cost was $75 per square foot. Resells sell in my area today for the high $90 per square foot. The limited info that I have is that the cost per square foot for new and resell is much less here than other metro areas.
I grew up in the north east and the quality and workmanship is much less here in Dallas.
I myself just remodeled my entire house I could write a book on the issues I found and corrected, framing, sheetrock, insulation, plumbing, trim, flashing, etc.
You get what you pay for.
Thanks again
brickeyee
14 years ago
"After a complete fire loss you do need to replace the foundation or footers."

Not generally true.

You often have to dig and expose them and show they meet the current building code.
If they meet the current requirements you can use them, otherwise they need to be replaced.

If they are more than 20-30 years old they are not as likely to meet code, and if they are very old (80+ years) they are very unlikely.
sue36
14 years ago
Remember, the amount the house is insured for assumes total loss, so the covered amount would include replacement of foundation/footers. I know a few people who lost houses to fire, and they replaced the foundations.

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