None of those prices are realistic. Double them all, and they will still be low. This isn’t 1969. But those prices are.

Keep in mind property taxes changes, and costs to live somewhere during a teardown (or maybe even during a renovation).

When it comes to construction costs, ask a local builder(s).

I got a cost/SF from a builder in LA for a home we priced in MN (we designed a home here to build but had a change in circumstance and may be moving to Socal, so wanted to price it out there, too). In MN, our price/SF was $240. In LA it was $500. That could have just been a number thrown out by the builder to get rid of me, but bottom line, I think getting a new home for $200/SF in LA would require you knowing a lot of the right people, doing a lot of work yourselves, and calling in a lot of favors.

@User "Are your neighbors hiring unlicensed scoundrels who work for crack?" LOL!

@chispa - You got it right! We did buy the house when the market crashed in 2009. Got an awesome deal and the property value has already more than doubled. But the house is falling apart. We are in San Gabriel - would love to speak to your contractors! I appreciate it very much!

The only way to get realistic costs is to have something tangible to bid. Estimates are just estimates, and not firm bids. It is possible that a tear down and new construction may be cheaper construction cost. That does not include cost of living elsewhere during construction.

There’s a difference between a house “falling apart” and needing lots of work. If the bones are good, you don’t want to tear them down, right? Maybe you need to gut it rather than tear it down to the ground? Would reconfiguring the space give you the rooms you want? Maybe your addition could be smaller with reconfiguring?

@Shawna - Agreed! There are so many ways of going about this, and with varying ROIs. We are at the information gathering phase and definitely not in a rush to get started. Next step is to talk to contractors and other folks who know more than we do :))

@designmomof2, turn on messaging in your profile and I will send you the name/info of 3 contractors I have worked with. I'll also send you the name of a designer who has reasonable pricing and has experience with ground up projects and would be worth consulting with for a few hours.

We're in a high COL area on the East Coast, and a reno with a 500sf master suite addition is costing us about $400k. That does not include a new kitchen, but does include renovating the existing 2 bathrooms, all new windows and doors, and (surprise!) new insulation and siding for the whole house. As the costs were mounting, I asked our contractor whether we were near the tipping point for a tear-down/rebuild. They said that their least expensive new build project is an $850k project, not including permit fees, not a huge house or high-end finishes. That tracks with other info I hear/read for our area. I don't know how LA compares to DC so YMMV.

@chispa - You should be able to message me now. Thanks so much!!

@smalloldhouse_gw and @anj_p -- Thank you both for your inputs! That is precisely why I started this thread. The information that I had been getting seemed too good to be true and I needed to verify all that before we start dreaming and planning :)

This explains property tax increase: https://www.hjta.org/news-events/taxing-times-online-winter-2018-2019/your-questions-answered-if-i-remodel-my-home-will-my-property-taxes-go-up/

We are in SoCal, same general area except we are in unincorporated LA county.

Your quote examples seem very low. If you could get a good quality home built for that price I would be immensely jealous of your good fortune.

We bought our first home which was built in 1948 and thought it would be straightforward to do an addition and renovation. Alas, we had no idea how complicated it is. From reading the forums, I think generally tear downs can be less expensive than renovating an older home. Of course, we did not know that. From personal experience, renovation costs balloon as there are inevitable added costs when something unexpected has to be brought up to current codes.

We might have been unlucky, but it took more than two years to get our renovation plans approved. Just the architect fees, permit fees, and site work can be a huge chunk of money. Ask me how I know.

If you are ready to go forward, get hard numbers on everything. Budget how much you will be spending on finishes. You will be surprised how much new windows and doors can be given California Title 24 requirements. The pandemic does not help at all.

Good luck!

Since you are probably in an area with relatively small lot sizes, also check the rules on grandfathering an existing house footprint during renovation vs. building new. In my city you can renovate within the existing footprint and usually get an exception from current setback requirements. However, if you build new you have to comply will all current setback requirements and floor area ratio restrictions, which can really limit the size and orientation of a house.

I have seen houses here that were demo'd down to just one wall standing, and then rebuilt completely as a new house with an additional story and bigger footprint. I assume this was something related to the building restrictions, but it really looked crazy during construction.

Bruce

@designmomof2, sent you a message with info I had mentioned earlier.

I used to get these generalized questions as a licensed builder. Without all the specifics, it's just guessing. Plus my cost is different than the cost of trades and materials. The builder doesn't work for free.

On a current planned build, I figure an owner with deeper pockets could easily spend another C$500K-C$1m and most buyers wouldn't know the difference.

JuneKnow not so certain the OP has been neglecting the upkeep on the house. Did you read the original post? Sounds like to me they have been 'waiting' on IMPROVING the home.

@chispa - Received, thank you so much!

@new-beginning - Thank you for your kind intervention and clarification. You are exactly right. The house is in no way neglected, just needs improvement and updating. I was strategically trying to avoid the negative/useless comments that periodically come up on these posts and I am grateful to you for standing up to the integrity of this post. Many thanks and Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Am I misunderstanding or was the not 250K-300K quoted for just the design work/architectural planning only, and is not the estimated project total? 10% of the project value is often a ballpark for that type of work.

@User - the 250-300K was quoted as the reno + extension project cost by a Design Build firm.