Lumber is way up. Labor is way up. Your lot cost seems a little high, as most say lot should be about 20% of project, but not sure if it includes services in a subdivision, and if so that 's probably reasonable. 3800 sq feet won't be a cheap house, and the expected level of finishes is higher than a 1500 sq foot house.

In my personal opinion, when it's all done, I'd be surprised if you could do it for that.

There should be a contract that will spell out exactly what services and materials/good they will provide for a specified price. I would expect somewhat of a breakdown. Otherwise if you want to do an upgrade on something, or cut costs somewhere, how else would you know where to start?

The lot price is $65,000 with the remaining $135,000 for all flooring and kitchen/bathroom cabinets and countertops plus all kitchen appliances.

That doesn't seem too bad to me but where did you come up with the $100K for profit? I am planning a build down in TN and most builders are telling me 10-20% on top of labor and material. I am building a 2700 sq ft home with full basement and the last quote came in at $280K without the 10% on top

I will say I did get a pretty detailed breakdown that showed framing, plumbing, electrical, concrete work, exterior, windows, etc... Some were lumped together but it gave me a good idea of where the cost was.

For the $100,000 estimate of overhead and profits, I assumed total builder costs of $500,000 and added 20% or $100,000.

This amount seems high to me. Should I expect the builder to provide me with a breakdown of the major components of costs making up the amount of $375,000? Thanks.

Was everything spec'd out with exactly what you want or is this with allowances for things like appliances, floors, faucets, etc? And if it is with allowances are those allowances reasonable or too low?

To build the actual house with everything spec'd out, no he doesn't need to break it down for you. You either go with him or decide to find someone cheaper.

A lot depends on the shape of the house, the size of the roof etc. The more jigs and jogs in the exterior of the house, the more roofline changes, the more turrets, multiple gables stuck on top of one another, etc, the more it will be to build.

Also things like brick and stone are not cheap. (And btw: Don't combine brick and stone. That's what McMansions do.)

Yes, we went through many pages of items to spec out the home. On top of that, allowances were made for flooring ($50,000) and cabinets and countertops for kitchen and bath ($50,000) plus $15,000 for kitchen appliances which I determined myself for specific items.

"...Should I expect the builder to provide me with a breakdown of the major components of costs making up the amount of $375,000? Thanks..."

Well...it depends...maybe yes; maybe no. What sort of contract do you have with the builder, or what sort of estimate did you ask for? Was it fixed price or lump sum? If so, you don't get to peek in the builder's price list (unless the builder is generous and lets you see his break out). If it was time and materials (hopefully not), you do. And you get a detailed list of materials and labor with each billing. Max, not to exceed contract: maybe, if the builder wants to share.

On top of that, allowances were made for flooring ($50,000)

Is that just for flooring or flooring and tile? Are you planning on using hardwood floors or something like LVT?

and cabinets and countertops for kitchen and bath ($50,000)

I'm sorry but that is way too low for kitchen, baths and countertops. I'm assuming you have more than 2 baths? Kitchen cabinets for a mid level kitchen will eat up at least half that budget without the counters.

plus $15,000 for kitchen appliances which I determined myself for specific items.

That's the only one that sounds like it's enough.

Without seeing your plans the allowance numbers seem reasonable for decent but not extravagant finishes. You can blow the kitchen appliance budget quickly as soon as you start looking at higher end appliances.

My advice on finding a builder is do you like and trust them? Do you fully understand the contract and how the money is going to be dealt with? A good indicator will be to chat with prior clients. Construction is a difficult process. Lots of things can go wrong. Good builders anticipate problems and fix the ones that do occur. If previous clients have great things to say about your builder you probably have a winner.

The builder has been in business for about 25 years, builds 6 - 8 homes per year, has a superb reputation and is considered the best builder in the area.

If previous clients have great things to say about your builder you probably have a winner.

Of course that's not always true. Look at my build. We interviewed quite a few prior clients who all had great things to say about our builder and were so excited to take us into their house to see what had been done.

Of course that was before our builder decided he could build more houses than he was used to building and wound up overextending himself.

Good point CP. I have seen contractors go sideways after decades of being honest, reliable and professional.

Sounds pretty low to me. Especially the allowances. Thats not mid level quality materials. Unless you’re building an entry level home? Which I wouldn’t think a 3800 sf home to be. About 100-150K low. Which would likely be added on when better materials are chosen.

to build a 3,800 square foot, two-story home

You're talking about a very large home. Of course it comes with a very large price tag!

Cpartist - I totally respect you and I appreciate your input.

IMO- $50K is plenty for cabs and tops but it does depend on the plan. $15k for appliances is fine if you have basic tastes. We started at $35k and I expect to exceed that. Thankfully, the wife is okay with non dual fuel.

As a point of comparison, 3700 sqft. Appliances 35k, cabs and tops $50k, flooring $30k - mostly hardwood and carpet. Tile only inside shower and that is not in flooring.

OP - in your area, $100k is too high for profit and overhead.

I was just talking to someone with a $960 build of about 6000 sqft. He knew the overall price per sqft but had no idea what his brick cost was. I used the same builder and I knew what the brick cost, and the floor and the fireplace etc. Some people can't handle the truth.... A fixed price sometimes is the way it goes

$100 per sqft is about as cheap as you can possibly get with the simplest design a human can make and doing most of the work yourself. Materials are pretty pricy.

The original post is confusing or at least addresses costs differently than I'm used to. $100/s.f is for the basic shell with additional $ for flooring, countertops and cabinets.

Yes just take his number and divide by sq\ft it is a really nice home for this general area

Just to clarify my original posting, the $100 per square foot is for the structure of the home (including exterior brick/stone) or $375,000. Then by adding in $65,000 for the lot plus $135,000 for all flooring, cabinets/countertops for kitchen and baths plus kitchen appliances, the total increases to $575,000. I then added $100,000 for overhead and profits to get to the overall total of $675,000 which computes to $178 per square foot.

Remember this home would be built in Kentucky not California where my previous home sold for $350 per square foot. Also, the $15,000 for kitchen appliances includes a 4-burner Wolf range top, Bosch double ovens and dishwasher plus French door bottom freezer refrigerator (make to be determined).

Gary be glad you aren't moving to the LA area ... new construction in my town is in the $700 per square foot range. From here, your $675k looks like a steal!

Where where are you getting those appliances for that price?

IMO- $50K is plenty for cabs and tops but it does depend on the plan. $15k for appliances is fine if you have basic tastes. We started at $35k and I expect to exceed that. Thankfully, the wife is okay with non dual fuel

Um it's plenty for a smaller home but I can't see it being enough for a 3800 square foot house unless the OP is planning on using something like Ikea cabinets and Level 1 granite.

If you're interested in even a mid level cabinet such as Shiloh, you're going to quickly run over that budget. Ask me how I know. (And my house is only 2800 square feet with one bath having a pedestal sink and the powder room having an antique vanity I found on CL.) And I don't have a full laundry room either.

As for the appliances, $15k is probably plenty for most of us. And I don't consider my appliances basic. Granted they're not top of the line Miele or LaCanche.

I know mine came under 14k and I have a Bosch 36" FD integrated fridge, a Bosch 800 36" induction cooktop, a Bosch 500 oven (I rarely use the oven and when I do it's mostly for baking so the 500 convection was fine), the updated Sharp MW drawer, a Zephyr 600 CFM hood insert, a Miele DW (the one with auto opening) and the second largest sized LG W/D.

In regard to the appliances, the most expensive item is the Wolf 4-burner range top (with griddle) at $4,275 (this is the range top that installs into the cabinets NOT the complete Wolf 4-burner range). I have seen this total package for around $15,000 at various appliance retailers in Kentucky and Indiana.

Gary, I live in Louisville and redid my kitchen a year ago, using Shiloh cabinets. The price of the cabinets on 4 walls, uppers on 3, was about $19,000 including installation. That was just for the cabinets, no plumbing/electrical, countertops etc. I have nearly all drawers in the base cabinets, and one wall with glass doors on the uppers (all these are uncharges). So, I think your budget is doable.

Your appliance budget may be a bit low as even mid-range appliances have gone up a lot in the last few years. Having a Wolf range and a SubZero refrig on that budget, plus your dishwasher and disposal, would be very tight and probably not possible.

I don't know how far you are from Louisville, but if you're a reasonable distance, contact me and I'll let you know who I used for my cabinets and where you can get good prices on appliances.

Gary, I live in Louisville and redid my kitchen a year ago, using Shiloh cabinets. The price of the cabinets on 4 walls, uppers on 3, was about $19,000 including installation. That was just for the cabinets, no plumbing/electrical, countertops etc. I have nearly all drawers in the base cabinets, and one wall with glass doors on the uppers (all these are uncharges). So, I think your budget is doable.

Anglo, his budget is for cabinets AND countertops! For all bathrooms and the kitchen. So yes, it's reasonable for just a kitchen but how many baths in this 3800 sq foot house? That will quickly add up.

That sounds low to me. My 2700 sq ft came in at $197/sq ft. I already own the land but needed to have utilities, LP, well etc put in. Nothing really fancy, but nice finishes, hardwood, carpet, no tile, vinyl in the bathrooms and laundry, tier 1 granite in the kitchen, simple lighting, unfinished basemment. 3 BR 2.5 Bath.

Scroll back up to this person's advice:

PRO

Mark Bischak, Architect

My advice to add: Local builders, architects and designers know local standards, which are a great place to compare from. Size is not an indicator of appliance budget. Same goes for plumbing, cabinets, etc. I build for a wide variety of budgets. In this size range, I've had clients work with appliance budgets from $15K to over $100K (La Cornue), windows can vary the same amount, from standard vinyl to custom commercial style aluminum or wood with collapsible doors. I have my preferences and standards, but I find there is always a new builder who does things differently. Example: While I usually specify engineered hardwoods, I came across a builder using vinyl plank at the $1.35 mil range.... before you turn up your nose at that, it might be a great alternative if you have dogs, and create enough savings to fund another bath or outdoor kitchen. Its all about managing your budget. Each market region and price range has its own standards or better described as "common practices" for certain price ranges.

We live in Kentucky and are getting ready to build again. We built in 2013 the last time and prices have unfortunately gone up. With that being said your framing package/shell of the house does seem high to me. Our last house was 3400sq ft and our framing package and getting it in the dry was about $125k. We used a brick foundation and vinyl siding (I know people cringe around these parts when they hear vinyl but we lived on a farm and needing something that could be cleaned easily). We live in little bitty town tho so not sure if that has something to do with the pricing. I would keep getting bids to see if other builders are comparable before committing. Good luck!

After further discussions with some give-and-take on both sides, we agreed on a price of $650,000. The contract was signed on December 15, 2017; however, no work of any kind has been started due to the inclement weather, frozen ground, etc.

We also just signed a contract. It came in $189 per sq foot for 2950 sq ft, 1.5 stories and three car garage. this is in Michigan.