If you're going to be an O/B....you need to get the plans of the house you want to build and start getting quotes from all of the subs(make sure you get GC pricing and NOT consumer pricing!) to get a good ball park figure in your area. That is the ONLY way to get anything realistic!

$125 is a bit much in N Georgia for "medium level finish" but it does depend on a lot of variables. We built for $125 a sqft in NC in a slightly more expensive area and I feel like it is medium/high level but it is all what you are used to....

The difference between building a ranch vs 2 story could be $25 a foot.

But - what are you going to do if that is what the builders are saying? It is true that materials still cost and labor isn't down as much as you'd think. But - with aggressive bidding, the labor can be much lower. Most builders won't do that because they have their subs that they know do a good job, show up on time etc. So they aren't getting nearly the break on labor that they could in the open market.

David,
Thanks for the follow up and that's what I was hoping to hear. I've built two houses myself (GC and Labor), but the last one was in 92'. Before I started to get some firm bids, I was just looking for round' about numbers others have recently experienced. Right now, I can buy pretty nice places in my area (Lake Lanier water front) for $75/sq ft. My vacant lot has not dropped in value, so I am considering selling it and buying something that's distressed and heavily discounted. In the "old" days, you could just double materials to get an idea of cost. I guess those days are gone.

Just to compare building vs. buying; hands down, right now, you can buy a house for alot less than to build!!

twotogo, IF you don't already have a nice piece of land that is totally paid off in a good neighborhood.

If THAT's the case, then building makes a lot of financial sense, but in general I'd agree with you.

"twotogo, IF you don't already have a nice piece of land that is totally paid off in a good neighborhood.
If THAT's the case, then building makes a lot of financial sense, but in general I'd agree with you."

I disagree. In this market it costs more to build than to buy almost everywhere. If you still need to get a mortgage and the amount depends on comps then owning free and clear land won't mean a better deal. It just means more equity.

david_cary - In Indiana where we live, realtors state the cost per square foot of finished space above ground. So a $400,000 house with 3000 sq ft above ground is $133/sq ft. In our neighborhood almost all homes have finished basements with level of finish equal to the above ground space. So the cost per square foot is EXclusive of the finished basement space in the MLS information. In this hypothetical example, if the basement had 1000 sqft finished, the $/sq ft would not be listed as $100.

Am I making sense? lol Of course, it costs money to finish a basement but the way the realtors calculate $/sq ft, it does not reflect basement areas.

My question is, does your figure of $125/sq foot include any basement finished area? We will be building in the south so your experience is helpful.

jmag, we already own the land through an inheritance. It will be about 250k-300k to build a nice, 2200-2500 sq ft. house. We could purchase an existing house on land that has equivalent features for about 250k or a little higher, so for us, it would be very competitive to build instead of purchase. Maybe it is different for most people in different areas. I am in Ohio.

From what you are saying is that you will have a mortgage of say 250,000.00 if you build on land that you own.

But! You can buy for about the same price.

I personally would sell the land buy the all ready built house that is the same price and I would have the money from the land sell to spend, save or lower a mortgage.

I should also mention that the new house will not appraise for much more than the existing house, so the bank will be only willing to lend on the appraised price.

I work for a builder and our market may be different than yours but homes that cost 700,000.00 two years ago to build are now appraising for less than 500,000.00 Very few people building new homes because they can get an existing home for way less than they can build them.

In my market they are still building spec homes just with a few less features and 10% less than a few years ago.

You know - I did the math wrong - it was $150 a sq ft. That does not include basement which is/was unfinished. That included a lot of unneeded things. There also includes deck and screened porch (with fireplace) and rather significant brick front porch (all not included in sq feet). That includes $35k in appliances, $18k in landscaping and about $20k in land clearing/grading and drainage (all things that might be close to zero elsewhere - well, not the appliances but you get the idea).

My wife and I are acting as the general contractors and are building in TN. Our house is a foursquare that is about 2700 SF with the option to finish another 250 SF. We are down to about the last six weeks of the build and it looks like we are going to come in under $90 SF(including land). This figure does not include the SF of the garage nor the porches. I would consider our house a custom home (granite, hardwood throughout, blown in insulation, tankless water heater, steam shower, Energy Efficient windows, etc). From the beginning we have spent countless hours researching to get the best deals. I also did some of the work and have friends and family in the construction industry. In our case it was way cheaper for us to build then to buy.