How much to build a house?

i think over here in NNJ it's about $350-$500/sq*f for something new that's decent

 

Seems like part of the problem is the valuation by the local tax authority?
I have modest rentals in high valuation places & have disputed the assessments twice in the 20 years Ive owned them. One time they added $250k to the value because I put $5500 worth of stucco on a single story block house. Every other house in the immediate area was bought & torn down for a 2 or 3 story monstrosity. Why 3 stories? It gives a direct ocean & west view but none of the maintenance of ocean front. Shortly after those houses were built the City restricted new construction heights to no higher than 35' off grade.

 

So I can give you some numbers based on Atlanta currently. A good friend of mine is building detached single family infills on the northeast side of the city. His houses are typically better finishes, 4-5 bedroom, 3-4 bathrooms, 2 car garages. Outside is usually a mix of stone / masonry and cementatious siding. Insides are tile / hardwood, granite / marble, bigger trim packages. His cost as the builder is running $225 to $250 plus dirt. He factors site work into that number generally, as he is usually doing lot splits or 3 to 5 units on a small assemblage. If you are hiring a builder to do it for you, you'll have cost + markup which is running about 20% in this market. If I was going to have a house built for me in my area on my lot I would expect it to come in around $275/$300 per foot. I would expect that to include demo & site prep, but not necessarily design / architect / engineering.

 

While more detail than I went into that's what I said. You can't build a duplicate replacement for something built 5+ years ago for the same cost. Your policy needs to be adjusted or you'll come up short at a time when you don't want to be coming up short.

 

without knowing anything about insurance: why does replacement cost have a cap? It should either be replacement cost or insured amount, not both.

 

Because the only mafia worse than the ones that run Vegas are the ones in the insurance industry.

 

I will say this... if you are a licensed contractor in FL you would steer clear of doing any "insurance work" where they control the draw/fund disbursement schedule. The other issue is there is typically no allowance for temporary housing.

 

I would say pharmaceutical sales in the US trumps the insurance industry

 

I bought an 1190 Adventure for ~$13k new. I guess I had replacement value insurance and at somepoint it got changed to actual value by Progressive without me requesting it. They paid me the current value ~$12k when it was totaled. A few months later, I got a check in the mail for $7k, unprompted, to account for the replacement value which was a new 1290 Adventure. They said they reviewed my file and realized they made a mistake when my policy got changed. Anyhow, I feel like Progressive looked out for me.

 

Because, you're mixing terms.

The building (Coverage A) limit is what the OP is asking about. That's the most $ that can be paid under that coverage, and that is the main factor in setting your premium (your payment).

Originally, all insurance was actual cash value, which is the value of the property at the time of the loss. Eventually, replacement cost on structures, then personal property was added to some policies until it became common practice.

If you have a loss on your home, you get paid ACV until you replace the structure. Then, you show that replacement had been completed and the balance is paid.

Some premium companies, like Chubb, will just pay everything without withholding, but you pay more premium for that. This has trickled down to the companies you see advertised daily.

Vehicles were always paid at ACV, until the last few years.
Now you can get RC on some vehicles

 

This... I came up short at a time (China Virus) that you don't want to be coming up short...fwiw, still not 100% complete construction, 2 years in.

 

I would love to bulldoze my house and DEFINITELY the pool, but the prices and timeline here are out of control, and the increase in rates definitely put that out of range.

 

I was fortunate and put the brakes on mine. We were just getting ready to submit for architectural review and the I.Q. Flu hit. I saw what was coming and put the brakes on. Now I'm not sure we'll move forward any time soon.

 

Wow that’s way better than California appreciation. Are you in the Franklin area? I only know that area because a racing friend of mine lived there for 5-10 years and we went out and visited him.

Gramted it was around 5 years ago Franklin was expensive then, but the Nashville area looked like a place I could see retiring to someday.

 

You're looking at around $180 to $250 a square foot in Central Kentucky.

I'm not certain around the Nashville area George, but I would expect it to be higher.

 

Pretty sure every price for building materials just went up by 50%. Such is the nature of JIT supply chains that already were lagging.

Things are gonna be rough for a while.

 

Couple the JiT problems with rampant inflation and it will be ugly for a long time, I'm afraid. While prices can come down, somewhat, the base cost caused by inflation remains intact and never really goes away. I started thinking about downsizing 5 years ago...just don't need 30 acres and a big house. Feel like I'm stuck now. I know the real answer is just bite the bullet and take my lumps, it's only money "they" say. I think the "they" are the ones on the winning end of those deals.

 

Get an idea of what new is costing in you area for similar levels of fit , finish and trim. Use that to figure SF cost and add 10%. Then add $25k for demo

 

We're in West Nashville, Murphy road area, just outside the 440 loop. In the 90's this hood was kind of run down with old houses, old people and no kids. Ain't like that no more. Bunch of whippersnappers coming in building newfangled houses. We gave out Halloween candy last year for the first time ever since living here.