Cost Per Square Foot

About

Summary: cost per square foot is largely meaningless. You don't know what it means until you consider:

1. Does it include builder's profit?
2. Does it include livable space only? (or other such as garage or porch)
3. Does it include basement?

• Measured for livable space (cost to build the complete home / sf of livable space only) only as the claimed industry standard of measuring cost of a home. Thus, a large garage and porch or upscale interior finish drive the cost up [1]. Does not include land.
• Average USA cost is $150 builder grade [2]. But this figure is different than the industry standard cost method - here they don't include land NOR non-livable space such as garage. Thus, the Forbes definition is not the standard definition.
• Median is more useful with nonsymmetric distributions, such as ones skewed by high cost outliers such as housing. [3]. The average is higher, median is the average Joe price.
• Average sale price of a new home USA is $487K, median is $416k [4]. Or about $190-$220/sf.
• If average cost to build a house is $280k [5], then land + legal is $200k.
• Median sf is 2300
• There are 6 classes of house quality. Lowest cost is $60/sf build cost. Highest is $500/sf (luxury) [6]
• Cob homes are the lowest cost to build, but highest cost to buy [7]. Build cost is way off - it doesn't include any MEP.
• Summary: average cost to build a new home $300k (land not included), to buy $500k [8]. Detailed breakdown of the $500k by NAHB for what appears to be builder grade - [9]
• OSE Value Summary: OSE build cost for an entry-level home is 1/3 the NAHB average, build cost per square foot is

Examples

• 2023 - $279k, 1700 sf [10]. $164/sf.
• 2023 - $340k, 1500 sf [11]. $227/sf.

Links

• Closing Costs