There is no usual. I last tract built in 1999. You could spend $300k or $400k for the same plan. It is like asking how much do options cost on a car? The answer is - it depends.

And then it depends on the car. Tesla for example, now has very few options - maybe 20% of value. But a Porsche, you can double the base price.

So some builders have such ridiculous base items that nearly everyone upgrades a lot. The opposite is true of other builders.

Know this for sure though. The profit margin on upgrades is the big money (just like options on a car). They might be secretive (not my experience) only because they don't want you to shop around and realize how absurdly high they are. There is a reason most "specials" have something to do with upgrade costs. When I built, the special was $10k of upgrades for "free".

Also know that the right financial answer is usually to not upgrade at all. You pay an absurdly high price for generally bad work. Often best to live with something for awhile and change it out later. Or upgrade the whole house and/or neighborhood so that you aren't wasting money with upgrades (ie don't put $50k into a $200k house, just start with a $250k house).

It depends upon the upgrade to be done and the builder that does the upgrade. Ask your builder; or better yet, have a home designed for you with an architect that meets your needs and fits your site. No need for "upgrades" because it will be what you need.

What type of upgrades are you talking about? Prices on most upgrades based on Material and Labor and Overhead costs.

As an example, if a builder provided kitchen which is included in the price of the house is 10k and you upgrade to a 15k kitchen, you pay the difference + additional amount for labor if you have additional custom features added, i.e side panels, build-up crown, etc.

The same goes pretty much for everything else.

We've priced out tract homes twice. The salespeople will generally do this for you if you don't go during a busy time (the first time we went during a snowstorm and the second time during COVID). They just price out the "general" upgrades (for example, granite vs. cultured marble, tile shower vs. fiberglass, etc.). You won't know how much you'll pay for the ACTUAL tile and granite you want until you go to their design center. (We priced out homes with both Lennar and a local builder and the process was essentially the same). However, the salesperson will generally give you an allowance for upgrades once you get to the design center. Whether they're close or not is probably dependent on the salesperson and how much of a stickler you are for keeping to your budget. Your best bet is to go there and price out your options, keeping in mind that you need to leave room for the design center.

"So some builders have such ridiculous base items that nearly everyone upgrades a lot. The opposite is true of other builders."

So true! Typically, the lower end builders fall into the former and the more expensive builders into the later statement.

Last time I talked to a builder about upgrades, I was told all upgrades offered were priced at a 40% mark up.

I just went yesterday for my design center appointment to choose my upgrades. We chose to upgrade the important things, like flooring and cabinets that we wouldn't want to do later. Other things like lighting, faucets, etc., is easy to do on your own later and much cheaper with more options. For example, our level 2 upgraded tile for a 2300sqft house was $13,800. Cabinet upgrade for level 2 was $2800. Overall we spent $18,500 on structural upgrades and $29,000 on design upgrades on a $400k house. It all comes down to what you want. You should ask your salesperson if they have rough pricing, ours did so we could pre-plan. Happy to answer any questions.

What % should we budget for?

Look up existing home sales in your neighborhood/area -- of houses similar in size and beds/baths as yours -- and use that number as your budget. This will help your appraisal come in at a reasonable amount, reducing your risk of overbuilding for the neighborhood (less $$$ out of pocket that you'll have to fork over to satisfy the financing folks). :-D

Just remember "upgrades" are a major income source for developers. I would venture to guess minimum 150% markup on them and the quality of the install will not necessarily increase proportionally.

Tract or production have a different approach than custom.

With tract, some design centers will "buy in" with a minimum profit if any, sometimes under cost. The goal of the developer is to be able to quote "prices starting at $_99,000" That has to be made up with extras through the course of selling the community.

It has not always been this way, but strategies have changed over the decades, similar to vehicles.

Higher end tract prices with the extras often exceed prices we deliver custom homes.

Why do you think change orders/extras are so expensive... Here is a perfect example of what you get with the original contract and what you get with change orders :-)