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How to Calculate the Cost of Building a New Home

Written by Ravindra Ambegaonkar | 10/18/21 6:48 AM

Before you get down to building a house, you need to work out the variables. A lot goes into building a home, and if you aren't watchful, it can stress you. One of the things you need to work out is the total cost of building a house.

Once you work out the cost of building, you will be in a better place – financially. Calculating the cost of building a house can be a tiresome idea, especially if you have never built it before. Below, you will find some pointers on how much it would cost to build a new home.

Decide Floor Plans

One of the things you need to do when building a new home is to decide the floor plans. It would help if you searched online for some of the options you can find and determine the prices that come with it. The floor plans are what will decide the size, features, style, and quality of the house.

One way you will genuinely find out the cost of the floor plans you have is by consulting a local contractor. Since a contractor has experience in building a house such as the one you want, you should get a per square foot quote. Remember that this will only be an estimate of the total cost.

Learn How Pre-Designed Options Can Save Your Money

You have some ideas of how you want your house to look like. If you want to create a design from the ground up, it may cost you more. A pre-designed option may cost you less as you only need to have a few twitches to make it more to your taste.

You will need to look at some of the specs that come with the pre-designed options – you can decide if the specs are what you need. You can always change the specs if they aren't appealing to you. You also need to check the durability of what was decided on initially.

When you change these specs, you need to ensure you find out how much the changes will cost. It will be much easier to do the calculations when you know what you add and take away from the design. 

Get the Right Builder

The right builder is everything when you are building a new house. It would help if you found someone who can build the home based on your design at an affordable fee. The right builder will also come in handy with the execution, budget, and timeline of the project.

In addition to explaining the cost per square foot of building the house, the builder should also give you an estimate. For example, you need to estimate the land costs, site work, and even landscaping costs. It will be much easier to budget when you have a whole idea of everything involved.

Get an Idea of How Much New Construction Costs per Square Foot

Per square foot of building makes it easy to figure out the overall cost. For example, if 3000 square feet will cost $450,000, how much will per square foot cost? It's a simple division here as you will only divide 450000 by 3000.

In most cases, that will be a rough estimate as several changes happen during the building process. For example, the per square foot price determines the total cost of building a metal home for yourself. This will lead you to the total cost quickly, and you can make a more informed budget.

Features Relation to the Cost of Construction

There's a lot that will affect the cost of construction for your new home. Some of the main features that you need to look at are;

Style

This is the architecture of the new house – styles are pretty handy to the cost. For example, a two-story building will cost a bit more. A one-story building will only come in with a price for roof and foundation.

With the two-story building, there will be some underlying costs that come with it. Labour and materials will be in plenty – those are the costs you will have to incur.

Special Features

Do you want vaulted ceilings, curved staircases, roof pitches, etc.? These are some of the unique features that come at an extra cost. Most of these features will only increase the price tag of your home.

Quality

Like anything else, you have different sets of qualities to look at. Building materials aren't any further as they come in different qualities. You have other quality paints, cabinets, insulation, flooring, and much more.

With quality, you will have to pay up a little bit more. If you want a durable home, you will need to get better quality, which will only drive up the cost of your home. You will need to check out the different options before you make any decision here.

How Different Year Times' Can Affect Cost

Different year times have other costs in building as there are times when labor is much more in demand. You need to look at the times of high unemployment as work isn't in order. Knowing these times can be a bit challenging, and you need to perform some deep research.

One of the times when you are assured of labour availability is during the winter. You will need to look at various other factors such as heating. When you have people working, you need to heat the site at extra costs.

Have a Budget for Any Additional Costs

When you are budgeting for a house, you need to accommodate additional costs. Some of the expenses that will come in include site preparation and permit fees. If you don't create a budget for this, you will need to dig deep into your pocket.

You will need to clear trees, haul dirt, and remove large rocks. Fees will include zoning laws, restriction permits, and so on. All these cost money and will only increase your overall expenses.

When building a new home, you need to calculate the overall cost involved. This is the only way you will get to find out how much it will set you back. With a clear budget, you won't go deeper over your estimate when you get down to the actual building of the house.