Anyone build a new house recently? Cost of building materials?

I’m a little bummed. After searching high and low for a decent builder, we finally found one we like. Met with him yesterday, discussed what we wanted (simple, no frills - aside from hardwood floors - “split-ranch” home.) We discussed the possibility of a basement as well.

While we haven’t discussed details yet, he said he we’d be looking at about $150/square foot. I think he saw me leave my body for a moment when I heard that number.

He explained that the cost of materials has exploded as recently as the last year or two.

I’m all about paying extra to have it done right the first time, but have material prices really gone up that much recently? 

Maybe he’s thinking we want something nicer than we do and guessing on the high side?

I’m not bagging on the guy or anything. Just asking the question. I do custom picture framing for a living and am used to people being shocked by the price if they haven’t had anything framed in 20+ years. I don’t wanna be “that guy” :/

$1.50/sqft for installing new hardwood floors?  That seems cheap to me.  

In reply to AngryCorvair :

Dick. :) In with the ninja-edit

That’s a question that can’t be answered on the internet. Square footage pricing varies wildly by region- can be 400% or 500%

Get a couple more local quotes. If they are similar, then you’ve got your answer. If they are drastically lower, go to your guy and explain how much you want to work with him, and even that you’d pay him a premium (10%? 20%?). But that you won’t pay him double. 

Then let him decide. 

Honestly in your area, you might find his price is a bargain. 

In reply to SVreX :

Cool. Thanks, man. Do *materials* vary that much regionally though?

Is that complete price? Or just materials? If it's completed pricing, then he's probably around the right mark.... 

poopshovel again said:

In reply to SVreX :

Cool. Thanks, man. Do *materials* vary that much regionally though?

They can. Shipping a bunch of plywood from the mill to someplace far away doesn't come cheap. We're approaching hurricane season, so it wouldn't surprise me at all if suppliers and building material stores shift  some stock toward the gulf region and away from the rest of the country. I also suspect retailers and suppliers charge more in certain areas because they need to, or because they can. If you live in an area with a high cost of living, you'll probably see higher prices on materials than in locales with a lower cost of living. Finally, the economy is booming globally. There's new construction occurring all over, and that affects supply/demand for goods.

Every time we have a significant hurricane, building materials spike in price.  With the large number of big storms the past few years, the prices have not gone back down.  Around here, moderate houses are selling for $130-150/ SF.  That includes the lot and is a spec home.  

In reply to STM317 :

Yeah, it certainly stood to reason to me that it’s a supply/demand thing. New construction has berkeleying exploded in our little corner of the universe over the last year. Lots of folks are retiring here from ATL and FL. So much so that the “tiny town” my shop is in was featured in the WSJ recently.

poopshovel again said:

In reply to SVreX :

Cool. Thanks, man. Do *materials* vary that much regionally though?

I’m not sure the answer to that question matters. 

The answer is yes, they can. 

But the real question you are asking is “Is this guy lying to me?”.  Maybe, maybe not. 

If you get other bids and find his numbers comparable to others, then it doesn’t matter. He’s charging market rate. 

Around here dimensional lumber is about 30% more than it was 5 years ago and osb is more than double. Fasteners are almost double as well.  I buy the stuff every day, i’ve watched it happen.  Gone are the days of $4.25 for a sheet of 7/16 osb and $1.89 2x4x8’s

In reply to Patrick :

Yeh, that stuff doesn’t grow on trees! 

I work with builders every day and yes the prices have risen so much that most people are buying a previously owned home, there's a huge difference in price.

Barndominiums (metal building houses) are going for that much down here.  I build a barndominium for a friend a few years back and costs were about 33% cheaper than a stick built home.

prices vary wildly from region to region. Some stuff like rebar fluctuates rapidly, #4 stick of rebar has gone from $3.50 to 8.95 in the last year

Shop around. I'm not building, but doing a near-total redo in the PNW. Our drywall guy did a good job with the drywall but wanted 3 grand to tile a 40 square ft bathroom. So we fired him and I picked up a trowel. The big box store wanted 11k to tile a small galley kitchen, so I hung onto that trowel.  After I was done with all that we met a guy who woulda done the gig for ten bucks a square foot. We are seeing some price spreads in materials but mostly it seems to be labor costs that are just.... off.  We paid to have the windows done for instance and labor was 10 or 15% of materials cost but the quote we got to buy the kitchen cabs was 3k and the labor to install them was 1600? Jeebus. Gimme that level and hand me that screwdriver. 

I'm starting to get bids on our renovation and you guys are freaking me out. First real contractor meeting is next week. We already have plans so that saves time. I'm having a bitch of a time finding general contractors who return phone calls, much less have time to take on a new project. I'm starting to think that all the general contractors who are worth a damn are all concentrating on new home construction as it is less B.S. than dealing with renovating an existing structure. That leaves me somewhere in between the general contractors who prefer renovations (and charge well for it) and drunk hacks who know more about avoiding permits than getting them in the first place.

Have you looked into modular/prefab/manufactured? 

I'm a GC, material prices in the PNW have gone up like CRAZY in the last 3-5 years. My historic pricing is not accurate at all any more. 30% is no stretch at all. 
 

In reply to slefain :

Yep, good contractors are busy this time of year. I by no means avoid remodels, but they are definitely more of a headache, just for the unknown factor of what you find when you open the walls up. It can swing a bid wildly, which makes it very hard to bid in the first place.

In reply to mtn :

Having done a bunch of modular, savings will REALLY depend on the manufacturer, you may not have any savings $$ wise, but will save time.

Jay_W said:

Shop around. I'm not building, but doing a near-total redo in the PNW. Our drywall guy did a good job with the drywall but wanted 3 grand to tile a 40 square ft bathroom. So we fired him and I picked up a trowel. The big box store wanted 11k to tile a small galley kitchen, so I hung onto that trowel.  After I was done with all that we met a guy who woulda done the gig for ten bucks a square foot. We are seeing some price spreads in materials but mostly it seems to be labor costs that are just.... off.  We paid to have the windows done for instance and labor was 10 or 15% of materials cost but the quote we got to buy the kitchen cabs was 3k and the labor to install them was 1600? Jeebus. Gimme that level and hand me that screwdriver. 

We don’t make our living on people like you.  I’m charging at least 3k for labor on your 3k cabinets, more if customers insist on buying their own materials because chances are they’re going to berk it up and not have something that will cost me an extra trip

the guy willing to do his own stuff to save money isn’t willing to pay for quality work to begin with because he thinks it’s too expensive.   This isn’t a shot at you or the DIY guy, it’s just what I’ve found in the last 24 years 

In reply to slefain :

Yep - around here it seems contractors literally have their pick of projects to chose from.  My mother has had a heck of a time finding someone to finish the kitchen reno her late husband started over a decade ago.   The house next to her was just sold and is slated to be torn down and rebuilt.  There is a house along my commute that was just demolished including the basement foundation and is getting new construction.  

I would like to renovate my house but at this rate I'll be forced to DIY although I have no idea how I'll make the time.

You're not building anything kinda nice near me for less than $200 a square foot...

In reply to carguy123 :

Thanks for the term barndominium. I've been mulling over the idea of building or buying a big industrial shed and sectioning off one end to make a warehouse/loft style dwelling for a while. That just took me down a rabbit hole.

I’ve been told $150-$200/sf here. It’s a nice area and I’m sure they’re assuming mid-to-high end finishes, but honestly those don’t add that much to the cost of a house. Yes tens of thousands but when you’re talking $300k it’s not a huge percent of the total. 

To be a good general contractor you pretty much have to be an excellent craftsman AND an excellent businessman. 

Those people are rare.

$150/sqft seems right-to-cheap in my neck of the woods. Is that everything? Site prep, concrete, building, finishes? I guess it kinda depends on size too. 1000 sqft house is probably more per sqft than a 6400 sqft house.

Houston sucked up a lot of drywall with that whole flooding thing. New construction by me is booming again as well. Stuff is expensive.