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, media is $416k [4]
• 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]

Links

• Closing Costs