You may have seen our blog post “The Rise of the Minimalism Movement”, which profiled the growing popularity of simple, sleek décor in urban houses.
Since then, we’ve been inundated with requests for cost estimates on custom houses, so we decided to do some research and find out exactly how expensive a custom house can be. And for the sake of simplicity, we focused just on residences in central Texas (Austin, San Antonio, and surrounding suburbs).
How Long Does It Take To Build A Custom House?
Once you have paid off all of the costs above, the next step is to look at how long it takes to build a custom house. This depends on many variables, including your skill level as a builder and the size of your project. Typically, smaller projects, such as a hobby house or storage shed, can be built in less time than larger ones, like a mansion. We determined that for the average homeowner, it takes around 300 days to build a custom house. However, this can vary widely, from around 30 days to more than six months, depending on a variety of factors, like the size of your project and whether or not you use subcontractors. Typically, it takes longer to build bigger projects, like mansions, because you’ll need to account for more labor and material costs.
Since we are a home renovation company, we also looked at how long it took us to renovate a typical house in central Texas. We determined that on average, it takes around 450 days to renovate a house in this area. As you may imagine, the process is more tedious and takes much longer than simply building a custom house.
The Average Cost Of A Custom House
Using online calculators and other resources, we determined that the average cost of a custom house in central Texas is $260,000. To put this number in perspective, this is the same as what it costs to purchase a median-priced home in the area. While this price is high and may seem daunting, it is still considerably less than the $335,000 that a custom house in San Francisco costs, for example (not including fees or other charges).
This price does not include the cost of materials or the length of construction time as it depends on many variables, including the size of your project. We broke down the average cost into four categories.
Planning Fees
These are the fees that you’ll have to pay before the work begins. Some cities in Texas, like Houston, require that you pay a registration fee for the building department, which is around $250. In addition, you’ll have to pay for a survey to determine the exact location and size of your project. The cost of these two items alone will add up to around $500. However, these items are standard and unavoidable.
Architectural Fees
These are the fees that your architect will charge you for designing the house of your dreams. Since architects are skilled professionals who usually work on a contingency basis, they may bill you a percentage of the total project cost, which can add up to a considerable amount. In fact, some architects’ fees are even listed in the contract as “non-refundable.” These fees can range from $15,000 to $30,000, which is around 10% of the average cost of a custom house. However, it’s still considerably less than what you’ll have to pay in some other cities, like New York or San Francisco.
Construction Costs
This is the cost of the actual building materials themselves. It usually includes everything from the cement foundation to the wood frame, interior walls, flooring, and roof. While this is a high number, it does not include the labor cost because you as the homeowner will be doing much of the construction. However, there are other costs that you should include in this category. This includes the cost of the land, which is typically around $100 per square foot, as well as the cost of permits and inspections, which total around $150. This is a considerable amount of money, but it’s still considerably less than what you’d pay in other parts of the country, like New York or San Francisco.
Final Floors
After you have paid off all of the construction costs, you’ll need to consider the final floors. This is when everything is put together and the house is complete. In most cases, you’ll have to pay for the tile, hardwood, or carpet that you choose for the interior of your home. The cost of these items alone will add up to around $20,000. However, this is still considerably less than the cost of other parts of the country, like New York or San Francisco. In those cities, you could spend up to $100,000 on flooring alone.
The Main Variables That Affect The Cost Of A Custom House
As we mentioned above, the cost of a custom house in central Texas depends on many variables, including the size of your project. For example, if you want a smaller house, it will cost you a little less than if you want a larger one. But the size of your project also determines how much planning is required and how much actual building you’ll have to do. The more planning that is required, the more architectural fees you’ll have to pay.
We also mentioned that the price of a custom house in central Texas varies based on the type of materials used. If you want a wood-framed house with vinyl siding, for example, the cost will be higher than if you want a similar structure with vinyl siding and brick. This is because the latter uses less material and is, therefore, cheaper to build. In addition, we discussed above that the cost of a custom house in Texas varies based on how fast you want the project to be completed. The more days that you want to work, the higher the construction costs will be.
Are There Any Popular Projects In Central Texas?
We mentioned above that the price of a custom house is based on many variables, including the size of your project. So it’s important to look at what types of projects homeowners in central Texas are choosing nowadays. Using online sources and resources, we were able to identify a few popular projects that have been built in the area in the last few years. These are the types of projects that you might choose if you want to know precisely how much a custom house costs.
One of the most popular projects in the area is the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house that we built for a family of four. This project, which is around 2000 square feet, cost just under $300,000. This is a good price for this area and the type of house that you might choose if you are looking for a minimalistic, modern design. In addition, if you are in the market for a house in this area, be sure to check out our blog post on “The Most Popular Houses In Central Texas”, which features a detailed description of this and other popular projects in the area.
Wrapping Up
After you’ve determined the price of a custom house, based on your needs and the size of your project, you can begin to think about who you’re going to use to build it. This will determine how much planning is required and how long it will take to build. Once you’ve found a construction company that you like, be sure to ask about references and about what their overall experience has been like. As we mentioned above, the cost of a custom house in central Texas is quite high because there’s a lot of demand for this type of property. However, if you’re looking for a minimalistic, modern design that is easy to maintain, the price is actually quite affordable. If you want to know more, be sure to check out our blog post on “The Rise of the Minimalism Movement”.
