How Much Does It Cost to Build a House?

There are various ways of knowing how much it costs to build a house. Experts like engineers and architects have a detailed system of estimating construction costs.

But for purposes of quickly seeing building costs, here is a layman’s version of how much it costs to build a house.

Per Square Foot (PSF) Cost

The square per foot cost estimate is the quickest way to see how much house construction would cost.

In fact, it’s applicable to any kind of construction: house, garage, shed, barn, extra room, extensions, swimming pool, etc., with some adjustments.

It’s not accurate, but it can offer a good idea of how much it costs to build a house or anything similar, more or less.

PSF Procedure

PSF costs vary in different localities. So the first thing to do is do a little research. Ask around for house and lot prices of properties sold in the locality where new construction is being considered.

Look for properties somewhat similar in size, make, features, and materials as the one being contemplated to be constructed.

Get the total price of the property, subtract the land cost, and divide the difference by the total house floor area.

The result is the estimated price per square foot. That’s a crude way of knowing how much does it cost to build a house.

Sample Pricing

For instance, the total price of a typical property in a vicinity is $230,000. The average land cost there is $30,000.

That makes the house construction cost $200,000. If the ground floor area (the area scope of the house) is 2,000 square feet, and the house construction cost is divided by this number (or 200,000 divided by 2000), the result is 100.

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This means $100 per square foot answers how much it costs to build a house in that particular locality, considering a typical size, make, feature, and design.

Thus, if the floor area of the house to be constructed is 1,767 square feet, the $100 per square foot factor is still to be used. This gives a $176,700 total.

PSF Gives A Target Cost

PSF can give people an idea of how much it will cost a construction. When they get a PSF cost estimate, they know how much they have to earn to get the construction started and finished.

However, PSF estimates should not be made as a basis for actual expenses to be made. For this purpose, a detailed cost estimate should be made, which is provided by engineers and architects.

Some people add several amounts to the PSF factor to make a safe calculation. For instance, with the above example, they use $120 or $150 per square foot instead of $100.