We got bids drastically below the "cost to build" on that website, but we are in a low-cost area (south Texas). I actually panicked when I saw the cost to build estimation on that site because I didn't understand how it was even possible to spend that much here considering what we are putting in the house (nice, but certainly not high-end luxury). Actually felt better once we talked to builders. As a result, I'm not sure how accurate it is in either direction.

It's virtually impossible for sites like this to reflect local labor and materials costs, much less the nature of one's individual site and utility conditions.

And then there's the design...but I guess my point is made.

The only way to know if one is "in budget" is to get local bids from reputable and experienced bidders.

Good luck on your project.

I know the next step is to get bids.... but it seems we would therefore need to jump into buying the lot (and the price tag that goes with that) before knowing what the range would be. Because who would buy a plan and bid that out before they owned the land? So we are trying our best to ballpark it before we close escrow on the land. So hard to do and so many variables, I know. Any other tips for cost estimating?

Well, I'll give you another data point, I just ran ours through the calculator you listed. I was surprised.

Trying to approximate our actual house the calculator's total number is about 3% less than our actual contract number.

Choosing the "luxury" level for everything (which we are not doing), the calculator's number is about 25% over our actual contract number.

Now, here's hoping we don't go over our number (by much)!

Thanks so much for that Oaktown! Can I ask what state you are building in?

California

OK, I just did it using the link and came up about $150,000 over the estimate the architect and our builder gave us as a quick guess (not official quote yet). So it can't be totally far off. I picked a lot of the more "luxury" level stuff (2nd column from the left).

Fun to see! Kath (Orange County)

While I'm not in California (Ohio) I did this calculaltor and I think I filled it out with about the finishes we are getting and it came out 40% higher than what we are actually paying (inlcuding our land).

Redhead, you should be able to chat with builders and potential architects in your area to get a very rough price per sq. ft. for your area- we did that before buying a lot just to make sure we could afford what we were doing. They were generally happy to talk to us.

I think texas_cajun and virgilcarter are giving some good advice. Before we purchased our land, I called a local builder who was happy to sit down with me and talk about our house -- I came away from that meeting with a better idea of the size/type of lot we wanted and a very rough number for construction (so we could back out how much to budget for the property purchase). The rough number was also around what I would have expected looking at the transaction history of builder tear-down/spec homes in the area. Once we had the land (but still no plans), we met with several other builders who also were happy to provide their "guesstimates" of construction costs as part of an initial interview.

redheadeddaughter, before you close, a builder might give you a ballpark range of build costs but could also advise you on the "buildability" of your land given whatever restrictions you have (I think you said you said you have a narrow lot, is it steep as well?).

Where are you located in California? We're in a close-in suburb of San Francisco, and I would estimate our building costs will be about $275-$285/ sq ft. That's for some luxury, but not over the top luxury, on a craftsman/ farmhouse build. Hope that helps!

I am in Southeast Wisconsin and that calculator was a joke. It said our build would be 630,000 for a 2337 sq ranch. I selected all 3's for quality. We are building for 218,000 and that includes things such as custom cabinets, granite, all natural flooring, etc...

The calculator gave me almost twice as much as the preliminary bid from our contractor!

Well I'm feeling better after reading all these. We do need to sit down with a builder to get a preliminary... so much of the plan depends on the lot (the pad is flat and narrow, the lot itself is multiple acres sloping down and away... trying to find a plan that fits on the flat part is a challenge)... and we know this will change the bids substantially. But before I put a builder through the hoops I want to make sure this is doable and with a cushion. We are about an hour from San Fran. in northern California and I expect the numbers will be very very high. The construction loan experts tell us that is one of the few markets where you can actually save money by building vs. buying. We have multiple offers/bidding wars going on for nearly every house in our city. I remember those days from a decade ago and have no desire to go through that again. ;) Hoping to find a builder who will do quality construction and let me find great deals on the interior stuff to keep costs down below $230 sf. If anyone has done that in the bay area I would love to hear... also any building references (is that allowed?) . Thanks for all the help you guys!

North/East/South Bay/Peninsula?
If you are likely to be working with the architect whose plan you posted earlier, you might check with him as to builders he's worked with before and would recommend.

Don't know if you have seen the linked blog piece but if not then you might find it interesting.
If your site might require a lot of work (grading, drainage, etc.) all the more reason to start talking with builders early.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Building costs in Los Altos

Do you have a builder yet? I am building in the South Bay and my builder was quite a bit less than the average $230/sq ft in the area. If you are looking at building costs alone (not including planning/engineering/land or permits) it is about $170/sq ft. We had two bids come in at roughly that amount, and we didn't get bids from many other builders as they were giving us initial ball parks in the $225-$250 range.

PM me if you are interested and I'll send you his contact information. I'm guessing he would work on anything South of San Francisco and south of Oakland on that side of the bay.

Oaktown, is that article including design/engineering/permitting/land? I'm a bit confused - over $400/sq ft seems pretty astromically to me as land and design/engineering are normally taken out of the equation.

This post was edited by Laura12 on Wed, Mar 20, 13 at 13:19

The article definitely does not include land costs. I don't know whether "soft costs" like design and permitting were included. In the $230/ft2 range you were talking about, here's what the author says:

"$226-250/s.f. - I've seen homes in this range that were actually quite nice and they had many of the attributes you expect in a Los Altos luxury home including very nice hardwood floors and top quality kitchens. What is often lacking are the extra details (moldings, heated floors, etc) and higher-end brands you usually see."

Though I also would speculate that Los Altos and a few nearby towns might carry a hidden premium for building since there's almost no undeveloped land, and contractors might figure that folks who are tearing down to build and live there must have $$$$$.

Looks like Laura12 might have some promising leads for you if you are in that area!

I am a builder that works mainly in the Silicon Valley (CA). A good rule of thumb is for building costs alone, and no trick structure designs/standard building methods, the low end is $130/sf. I wouldn't go with a GC bidding lower than that. Medium is $180-$200/sf. And high end is anywhere from $250 & up.

Thanks Nicholas. Do you work on whole home projects or just remodels & additions? I'd love to add you to our list we are compiling. Would you send me a message with your info?