Hmm. So question. You have a real architect? This person has completed your "program?" This is a package of documents from site prep to home plan through lighting schedule and window schedule etc that documents every fixture and finish?

If this is the case then yes, the price can go up depending on which builder is estimating or bidding. The architect cant estimate current costs with any precision.

Supply prices are going up daily too. We are in the middle of our build. Its a lousy time to build. Have to be able to roll with it. Plan for way larger contingency fund than you think/thought you need.

Yes it is normal for most people. Covid has also caused shortages in materials and the increase in prices that go along with that.

The only way to avoid surprises like this is to start a project with EVERY single items that goes into a house called out by brand/model, but the recent covid factor would still have affected major line items like framing, so you would still be faced with some substantial price increases.

What was the time span between vague quote and final quote? When did you start the process?

What do you mean "architect phase"? If you're talking about a base estimate from plan and square footage and a general guess of your finishes, then yes, I think a 20% increase is pretty normal. You're lucky it was only 20%, honestly. We were aiming for $600k build cost and our bid came back at $750k (putting a custom home right out of the realm of possibility for us - there's literally nothing we could have cut from our 3 bed 3 bath house that would have gotten us down $150k). Our builder said our windows and doors alone came in $60k more than a similar bid they had in May, probably due to Covid.

Yep. Prices are insane right now. Although new builds are leveling off. I talked to someone in the industry locally today who suggested that if you can afford to sit on it for 18-24 months, things like lumber prices are likely to be more reasonable.

You can't price an imaginary home. You need a concept plan at a minimum. Keep in mind that a concept plan has limited details, so don't expect the accuracy of any construction cost estimate based on a concept plan to be better than +/- 10%

In the current environment, you'd need to add the covid-19 premium to material costs which could be as much as 30% to 40% for lumber and 5% to 10% for other materials.

Lumber prices will stabilize at some point, but component prices will continue to increase. Waiting too long for prices to drop could cause the opposite of the desired effect.

How much time passed?

Why I ask. We get cost inquiries from clients while they're looking at properties. We give them current information usually with several caveats about construction inflation over time, potential grading costs, impacts of unconventional design and various finishes. Nobody ever hears anything beyond the initial number.

From numbers we gave out around July 1 lumber has nearly doubled, concrete is up significantly, our waste costs increased 7.5% plus the cost of hazardous disposal for products they won't take as of Jan 1. City tree removal fees are 225% of the costs prior to April 1 but that is a permitting fee that I pass on.

Most of the rest will increase 5-10% over this time last year.

Those are purely cost issues.

Level of finish and complexity continues to increase. Sometimes the owner adds "a few items" and sometimes the architect adds "a few items." They add up.

Construction costs rise regularly but not smoothly, more than inflation. I've seen lots of plateaus but reductions only one time.

Ask your builder(s) for suggestions.

"I need to get to $_,_00,000" should elicit something if they want your project.