I live in Illinois and was quoted around $125 per square foot. We are not looking to do anything extravagant either. I thought that was a little high compared to what I've heard mentioned on this forum. I would also like feedback on this question!

Did you ask the builder why he originally said $105 and now it's $133? Assuming you're speaking about the same builder. You should send your plans to another builder that is known of good work and have them bid your job too. That will give you you're answer if they are close in numbers

Does your cost to build include land? If so, that can drive up the $/sq ft dramatically.

Are there large porches? Garage? Bonus Room? Lots of bathrooms? All of those add cost.. a bonus room sounds "free", but it still costs money to finish. Same with porches.

Is the foundation complex (lots of corners) or mostly simple? Lots of corners adds to cost.

Is the home brick versus vinyl versus Hardie or other siding? Vinyl will typically cost less. Same for asphalt shingles versus metal roofing.

You need to know exactly what the builder priced/speced out before you can make an educated decision regarding the price.

Anything unheated will increase your sq foot- do you have big garages or porches? Also, what are the allowances? Are they reasonable (go bid some out at local stores!), or has he just "taken" money from those areas, and you'll end up paying cash to make up the difference for the floors/tile/counters you want?

We're paying 350 for a 2k sq ft home, but it's including an acre and maple cabinets- everything else I chose out of "builder grade" level materials, and we specc'd them before signing the contract.

Is that price just for building the house or does it include the lot and landscaping as well? It is impossible to say whether that is a fair price not knowing your house plan and specifications of what that includes. Our North Central Ohio build came out to approximately $115 per square foot if I calculate it out but that didn't include the land to build on. The finishes we chose were probably considered mid-level (not builder basic but not top of the line everything either),

Too many people hang their hat on a square footage cost. Unless the building is already built, it's just a guess. There are too many variables (material costs, scope of construction, weather in Florida, weather at the site, labor costs, work load, type of material, amount of material, etc.) in building costs to depend upon a square footage cost.

Don't use that number, it's just an estimation tool. I had a garbage spec home builder by me that claimed they could do a finished ~1,700sqft home (not including property) for a hair over $100k. Only had 2 homes to pick from that they mass-build.

Finished basement space is less, bonus room space is less... Porches/decks/patios add more, etc. Even just looking at flooring, I found hardwood for $6/sqft all the way up to $20 for just the material. Garbage plastic plumbing fixtures, apartment grade light fixtures... you can go bare bones in many places, or spend whatever you want, so it's very hard to just go off of a $/sqft foundation

If you have an 84 Lumber or whoever supplies the materials I would send the plans to them to get a quote on everything. Lumber, Windows, Doors, etc. The rest is labor cost and contractor fee. Look for a Cost Plus type of builder.

Cost per SQFT number includes the Garage, unfinished space, Covered Porches, etc. none of which are cheap. The bigger your garage and porches the more the 'Cost per Foot' is going to be if you are only focused on the Finished SQFT.

Well...have you gone back to your builder and asked why the discrepancy in prices? No one here will have a clue, since only you and your builder know your project.

The only price which really matters is the lump sum price. Square footage prices aren't worth the time it takes to spell them. Really.

Here is an example of why per square foot isn't a good measure. Here are four variations I can get for cost per square foot for our duplex (not including land) based upon our total contract budget.

If you only use finished square footage per plans: $325 (but that includes 2 kitchens which are high $ per sq feet compared to other rooms, so a single family of the same square footage would be slightly less).

Finished + large unfinished walk out basement (concrete slab, with imbedded radiant heat, plumbing stubbed for 4 baths, windows and 3 sliders):$210

finished + basement + heated garages: $180

Finished + basement + garages + covered porches: $165

Granted we are in a relatively high cost area and totally custom, but not uber high end finishes. But the point is what is included in the $ per square foot number depends on much more than finished square feet.

Thank you everyone for the information. We do own the land, Toledo Edison supplies the electricity to the lot for free because they cover the first $5,000 for new construction, and I'm doing the finished painting and landscape myself. We should be able to get the price down to around $117 a square foot. After talking to the builder yesterday and seeing some things he does that I've not seen other builders do, I feel more comfortable now and I'm willing to pay the higher price.