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Old 08-04-2009, 08:11 AM   #2
DickR
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For only very crude guesstimating purposes, you can look at the online property appraisal information for similar houses in your area. The replacement cost figure for a recently built, similar size and configured house might be close enough, while still very crude.

I certainly hope you won't pick a builder that quotes based on per square foot. No one buys a car by the pound, and any builder who quotes price by the square foot probably ought to be avoided. That is a derived number, total construction cost divided by some area. What area is used? Conditioned space, living space shown on the floor plans, but not garage? Is the garage then free?

Any competent builder can estimate total cost from the various parts that go into it (site prep, foundation, framing, roofing, windows, insulation, electrical, plumbing, flooring, kitchen cabinetry, landscaping, etc.). Some things scale directly by area, such as flooring. Some things scale by outside wall area, such as insulation and siding. Other things don't scale by area at all, such as the kitchen. Certain areas within a house are very expensive on a per square foot basis (bathrooms, kitchens), while others are much less so.

When cost/square foot is later calculated from final numbers, they can be all over the place. A lot depends on interior finishing, how complicated the roof line is, and even if the property is shorefront and the builder figured the owner could afford "high end."

But, you asked for a $/sqft estimate. How about $150, which could easily be too high or low.
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