It is possible to build a house on budget - see the austin cubed blog link below.

Prefab is always more expensive right now than stick built. In the picture you included, more unpainted wood and more windows will increase costs.

We are building a modernish house is a neighborhood of more traditional houses and we are around the same price per square foot.

The lack of ornamentation reduces costs. More visible stained wood increases costs. However, many people building modern houses will make choices in fixtures and finishes that drive up costs - anything that people want that is unique can increase costs. Also, you will see a lot of modern houses on the coasts, where building costs are much higher anyway.

Plus. price per square foot is really misleading - kitchen and bathrooms are expensive, while large simple spaces can be cheap. A smaller, nicely finished house will have a higher cost per square foot than a larger house because a higher percentage will be kitchen and bathrooms.

Here is a link that might be useful: austin cubed

^^^ What pal said.

There's no way to conceal anything, so the level of finish has to be top-notch.

Well, if you mean "modern" along the lines of MCM, there are plenty of tract homes in California that were production built in a way that some would call cheap. I lived in a rented Eichler for a while. It was nice to look at, if you did not look too closely. It seemed to me that the developer didn't seem to care at all about the materials, gaps, and inconsistencies (or insulation, etc.). Oh wait, maybe the non-plumb walls and gaps where you could see clear through to the outside were due to the earthquakes . . .

Modern done well does require a level of skill that one might not expect without a premium.

The original intent of modernism was to avoid the typical trim and covering details of traditional construction, but it was found that these were too difficult (thus expensive) to execute on a large scale.

One of the first details to go was the full height door. First they added a jamb at the ceiling, and then they just dropped to regular height again.

Clamshell and "sanitary" moldings were developed as the simplest sort of profile that could cover the normal gaps and transitions. And in these cases lack of ornamentation was, in fact, a much cheaper way to go

The other thing that happened was that the peak of tract house modernism was during a period of higher interest rates and inflation and building quality and size always seem to suffer during these periods.

I wondered the same a while back and came across these two pages that I think detail it pretty well.

[This Houzz article[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/the-truth-about-simple-modern-details-stsetivw-vs~16523984) has photos that show how modern details can be costly.

And this AskMiFi thread discusses exactly the same thing.

Here is a link that might be useful: [Houzz: The truth about simple modern details[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/the-truth-about-simple-modern-details-stsetivw-vs~16523984)

Why are "Modern" homes expensive?

There are a number of reasons:

1. "Simple" details and construction are actually very time consuming and challenging to construct. It really takes a high level of craftsmanship to execute the "simplified" detailing of modern design. There are few builders and tradesmen who know about "modern" design and fewer still who want to take the extra time required for construction. There are, indeed, some who understand and have the knowledge and skill required, but it takes a lot of searching to find them--and they tend to be very busy!

2. "Standard" construction is the common approach and that's where the money is. So even skilled craftsmen look for the annual production volume necessary to make a living and few are interested in the "once a year Modern" when/if it comes along.

3. "Traditional" homes have a lot of margin for error--there's a lot of redundancy which covers up errors and poor workmanship. "Modern" homes have to have all construction installed properly. More time and labor to do things correctly means more $$$.

Modern homes are lovely and inspirational, but they do cost more than a tract house!

Thanks so much to all for the interesting and thoughtful posts! A modern or sort of vintage mcm feel home is on my dream wish list and there isn't a good supply of them where I live.

Ps I am reading through all the links...the askmetafilter thread was hilarious.

This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Nov 3, 14 at 22:33

1.) materials that make the home look beautiful- EIFS or stucco, large windows, modern doors, wood siding, metal roofs or flat roofs are super expensive 2.) Design of the home- sub contractors and contractors demand higher pay for custom construction (material and labor), and even higher for modern design. If the house looks different, it throws people off and some subs don't even want to get on the project (we have a flat roof, our scheduled sub backed out last minute, it took over three months to find a new one and cost us double our budget) 3.) finishes- every little detail adds up. Anything that looks more modern- faucets, kitchen, hardware, toilets, tubs, showed, etc etc WILL be more expensive. It all adds up. For example, we wanted WHITE tile and quickly realized that white costs 4-5x more than off white or cream or any other color. Hope this helps. We spent at least $50-60 more per sq ft for modern (and this is cheap because we were owner-builder and worked a lot on the house ourselves)

I was a spec-home builder for years, my brother is an architect. Invariably, the materials he selects in modern homes are quite a bit more expensive than what I would have chosen, because they have the 'right' look. There is no reason, in my mind, that they need to be. The idea that the finish quality needs to be much better I reject.

There are many reasons why a "Modern" home may be more expensive to construct than a traditional residence, but like all things, the answer is: ...it depends...!

One example of greater cost is in the detailing. Modern homes often have one-of-a-kind, special exterior and interior detailing for the simple, clean appearance which is characteristic of Modern architecture. To achieve simple, clean details it may often be necessary for special framing, backing and finishing with tolerances which may not be typical for traditional residences. For example, in a traditional residence may use a standard and commonly available wooden base to cover the gap between the wall finish and the finish floor. By contrast, a Modern home may not have a base at all. The wall (with or without a flush fitting piece of matching color plastic laminate) may be extended down to within 1/2"-3/4" of the finish floor and have a continuous metal channel installed as a reveal to separate the finish wall from the finish floor. Not only would such a detail be more costly, but it could also affect the sequence of installation of the finish trades. It would look super, but certainly cost more than a standard wooden base installation in a traditional residence.

I totally buy that the level of craftsmanship in "modern design" finishes would be higher. It cost us more to not have crown molding than it would have just because the drywallers needed to do a better job. On that note it also cost more to have flat ceilings than "orange peel" for the same reason.

There is a whole category of homes that should be called faux modern: They've got the simple unadorned look, but none of the precise detailing described above. Indeed, some that have gotten the big bucks around here were obviously built on the cheap--reusing 50 year old foundations and bits and pieces of the former walls.

Incidentally, as a mere "conventional" builder I take great care with the floor-to-wall interface. When using wood floors, I insist on only 1/8 quarter round trim; on tile or stone floors, no quarter round at all.