There's something wrong with your math or your typing. First, a new home with medium to high finishes west of Philly area in the Main Line or West Chester area at $100/SF is unlikely. $200/SF is a more likely cost, at least for a custom home, not including any design or engineering fees.

Second, if the lot, by itself costs $260-$300K (the going price for a vacant acre in the area), and a house of 3,200 SF at $200/SF=$640,000, then your total project cost would be upwards of $940,000.

What am I missing? I live in the Chadds Ford area, so these costs are familiar.

Good luck on your project.

If your budget isn't a typo, then look at older existing homes in less upscale areas, and even that will be a stretch for the budget given. Philly metro is an expensive place to live.

one build another build.

Two story rectangular box could cost 1/3 rd of custom single story. Who knows what medium - high finishes are...

It always shocked me how some people always talk sq ft.

One can spend 15k on kitchen and another 65k. One house may need septic another. One could have electricity on site another 18k hookup fee, permits could be $400 in one county and $20k in another. One may spend $7k on hvac and another 40k on geothermal.

You can build the house for 300k but it would not be med finish.

Consider basic cost:
Excavation 3 - 4K
Foundation 25 - 35k
Framing 40 - 60k
Insulation 7k
Siding 20k
Doors 3 - 4k
Doors Hardware 1k
Windows 5 - 10k
Garage doors 1.5k
Roofing with fascia - $17k
Finish carpentry - 7k ( basic)
Interior walls - 15k
Paint - 7k
Wiring - 10k
Plumbing - 20k
Hvac - 19k
Flooring - 6k
Cabinets - 10k
Fireplace - 3.5k

My prices are not high end and add 10% architect fee, 10% GCOP, 10% material markup.

Go ahead, try showing me that I am off. Show what price can you get at 50% or more of listed for 3200 sq ft house. Not to mention insurance 8k, clean up, landscaping, etc.

Brian

I suppose if you could find similar houses to what you want at that price than that would probably be doable.

I think that is the first thing you need to determine before hiring someone. -What is available for 350k? If nothing exists than your expectations will need to be adjusted.

I agree with the others that your estimated pricing is way off for PA.

Rather than look to build, you can look to remodel an existing home to get the house you want at less money. There may be bargains to be had on existing homes, but unlikely on a new home unless you are doing all the labor yourself.

The only reasons to build a custom home IMO are if your needs cannot be met at all with existing and available structures on the market, or if you have the land already, or if the location is so ideal that nothing else can compare, or if you love the designing and building process.

Otherwise, you'd be better off buying an existing structure and remodeling. Remodeling can be expensive as it has to be custom, but it has the advantage of having a lot of the work already done for you in terms of septic, water, electricity, driveway access, established neighborhood. And typically you remodel less sq ft than you build from scratch. Depending on the remodel, it can save you money by providing you with a space to live while you add on and you may only need to construct part of the space instead of the whole house. You can also take your time so instead of having to choke up all the money at once, you can attack rooms when and as you can afford.

If you've seen shows like Love it or list it, you can get an idea of how successful a remodel can be in bringing up an older home to newer standards. And older homes may provide character and materials and design elements that you just don't see in most new builds.

The Delaware County and Chester County areas are ones where, generally speaking, a new house is more expensive than an existing house, when looking at comparables.

As Brian points out, however, it all depends on what one thinks is acceptable design and construction quality. One person's vichyssoise is another person's chili con carne!

Good luck on your project.

Thank you very much for all your responses. I am totally new to the process and trying to educate myself and understand what I can expect to get at 650- 700K range. I see a lot of poeple here have a lot of knowledge and experience and I appreciate the time taken to respond.

I am not really particular about a totally custom home every single detail is unique. A open floor plan, plenty of storage and adequate space is what we really need.

However, we would like to be able to make some personalized changes to kitchen. Do you think if we use a plan that a builder has and make some changes, I can keep the cost down?

I would also like to make clear, I am not looking for most expensive finishes but I would like to put in some money in kitchen .

I also think I will really enjoy being involved in design and building process so if we can do that, that would be a dream come true. It would be exciting to pick out all the finishes.

I am also looking at existing homes. If we find something that could work with some remodelling, we are open to that.

I wanted a starting point to understand what would be a realisting amount to build a new home.

Compare location, features, sizes and costs of new builder's houses with existing houses. Zillow is a good web site to surf for houses in a given area, listing both new builders houses and MLS listings.

Good luck on your search.

Hi Virgil,

Since you are from around here, I hope I can pick your brain some more.

The development where we looked had other new homes sold for 690 to 730K range. That is why I thought it would be in our range. My husband is more flexible and would go higher if we can get what we like but I was hoping to be on the lower end of our budget.

But from what I read from everyone, I am way off. So the $200 per square feet would be for a totally custom home? If I use builder's plans with some tweaking, what should I look to pay?

We saw a model home from NV and it was about 6000 sq feet(inc finished basement) and priced around 800K. I thought the finishes were quite nice. But I thought it was too large a home for us. Even 3200is too large IMO but that is my husband's preference. I would rather build something smaller with a loft space and or basement that could be finished later if additional square footage is needed. We are a young family and dont need that much space now anyway.

I know I may come across all over the place but I would really like to build something new rather than remodel. I want to look into it to see if it is even realistic.

Certainly you will be able to save a little to a lot of money by using an existing house plan. (Although you may not get the most suitable plan)

Houses are generally not so complicated that a builder will be able to reduce costs through labor efficiency simply because they have built the plan before. But they will have a better understanding of the costs of a plan they have built before. (which may mean that they could budget tighter)

Most of the smaller builders would offer any level of customization you want whereas the big corporate builders tend to have fixed programs.

Rory20, the $200/SF budget would be for a custom designed home. A builder's tract development or an individual house from a builder MAY be less, depending on lots of things, i.e., land and development costs, size and amenities, demand, etc.

As I mentioned the Zillow web site (and similar ones) lets you quickly compare existing and new houses for sale to get a quick sense of what may be appealing and what may not.

The best way to become familiar with the cost of houses in areas of your choice, and what they include, is...to look, look, look at them!

The old rule of thumb is that existing houses tend to cost less than new ones. While not always true, it's good to keep in mind.

One of the best things to do before a dedicated search is for you and your spouse to make a list (to which you BOTH agree) of the "must have" spaces and amenities, and a second list of "nice to have" spaces and amenities. The lists are of little value if you don't both agree. The purpose of the list is to establish some important criteria by which to evaluate the houses you see, rather than simply getting carried away by some of the glitz and upgraded features that you will see in model homes.

Everyone has their own priority list, but my recommendation for the top priorities in choosing a house are: 1) location; 2) immediate neighborhood, improvements, schools, transportation, etc; 3) individual house. Unfortunately, IMO, some folks make a purchase decision simply on house amenities such as granite counter tops, a buffalo tub and a MBR walk-in closet large enough for a basketball game. Builder's know this and construct their houses accordingly. So know what your really need and want before beginning your search.

Good luck on your hunt!

Rory20, the $200/SF rule of thumb budget would be for a custom designed home. A builder's tract development or an individual house from a builder MAY be less, depending on lots of things, i.e., land and development costs, size and amenities, demand, etc. A $/SF cost is only a very rough approximation and it's only useful purpose is in very preliminary initial budgeting.

As I mentioned the Zillow web site (and similar ones) lets you quickly compare actual prices of existing and new houses for sale to get a quick sense of cost ranges, what may be appealing and what may not.

The best way to become familiar with the cost of houses in areas of your choice, and what they include, is...to look, look, look at them! Each and every builder has their own approach to customization, from a little to a lot. You have to go out and investigate.

The old rule of thumb is that existing houses tend to cost less than new ones. While not always true, it's good to keep in mind.

One of the best things to do before a dedicated search is for you and your spouse to make a list (to which you BOTH agree) of the "must have" spaces and amenities, and a second list of "nice to have" spaces and amenities. The lists are of little value if you don't both agree. The purpose of the list is to establish some important criteria by which to evaluate the houses you see, rather than simply getting carried away by some of the glitz and upgraded features that are common in model homes. Thus, when you visit homes, look beyond the surface "glitz" and try to evaluate the "bones" of the house to see if they will fit your lifestyle and budget.

Everyone has their own priority list, but my recommendation for the top priorities in choosing a house are: 1) location; 2) immediate neighborhood, improvements, schools, transportation, etc; 3) individual house. Unfortunately, IMO, some folks make a purchase decision simply on house amenities such as granite counter tops, a buffalo tub and a MBR walk-in closet large enough for a basketball game. Builders know this and construct their houses accordingly. This is why so many builder's houses are so similar. So know what you really need and want before beginning your search.

Good luck on your hunt!

For lower costs than $200 a sqare, say $150-$180, you're basically talking a semi custom build rather than a true custom. You will give up some freedom to do that, and to reduce the costs. That means maybe making a couple of very minor changes to a floor plan from a builder in subdivision who has built that plan before. Not taking a plan off of the web and doing a lot of alterations and getting builders to bid on that. The more individual and non cookie cutter that you want your home, the more you have to pay for the privilege of creating that new.

The difference in $150 and $180 is the complexity of the plan, the builder's experience with it, and what you decide to fill the interior spaces with. There's a big difference between a home with a basic carpet and one with random width walnut floors. Like 40K difference for just that alone. It's the same with a tiled bathroom. It could be 5K more than a basic acrylic surround, or it could be 20K more, depending on material and complexity of your design. When you start down the road for luxury materials in a mid priced home, you can be your own worst enemy about staying on budget.

Your money WILL go further by buying an existing home than new construction. So, see what your budget might buy for existing. Then times that by 1.3 to 2 for new construction to account for the one offs in your project. And plan to bring a lot more money to closing than the home costs if you want to be at upper end of the materials in a mid scale neighborhood.

Of course if you do a remodel, you will still have the fun of picking fixtures and finishes.

I am
In same situation though less of budget. Sadly the available supply of existing homes are low. Comparing existing to new in same area, same sqft etc a 1970- 1980s house not ever updated is only about $15-30 k less. But has original everything and outdated floor plan. Of course the new doesnt have the mature trees etc.

i know nothing about your area - i have built in massachusetts and i'm in the process of building in texas.

there aren't really new developments, or not many, going in in eastern mass anymore because there's no land to be had. but in texas, there are loads of builder-owned lots in new communities. the builder owns the whole community, or there are maybe 3 approved builders in the community and they own the lots. in those cases, you choose from a handful or more of floor plans and you choose your finishes (cabinets, carpet color, etc and you have the option to upgrade any of those finishes at an added cost). but in those communities it's very simple to get an idea of the cost of various floor plans because they're somewhat priced out already. the other advantage (there are plenty of disadvantages too...) is that in most cases, there's one closing at the end of construction since you don't own the land. the builder has all the financial burden during the process, except whatever down payment you've given. on the flip side, you have less control, less approval rights, and you don't really own anything until the final closing when you buy the house as you would buy an existing house.

if custom isn't important to you, that seems like a good fit for you to have the home building experience, but not the extra legwork and budget associated with custom. having no idea the specific towns you're interested in, i just did a quick search for new home communities in chester, and that turned up none, but there are lots in other towns west of Philly. some of the towns where the are new communities are westchester, ivy land, newtown square, horsham, phoenixville... and those were the pricier ones starting around $649k. there are 10 pages of results starting well below that, so i think it's quite do-able if you set a budget and stick to it.

just use realtor.com and do an advanced search checking the "new home communities" box, set a budget, min lot size, location etc.

good luck!