Average Cost to Build a House

Have you recently bought a piece of land and want to build a home? The question "how to build a house" is often preceded by "what is the average cost to build a house"? Read on further to find an answer to what the average cost is to build a house.

What is the Average Cost to Build a House?

This is a question, which is very difficult to answer, reason being the many personal choices which can increase or decrease the total cost, at the same time there are also many factors which will influence the cost too. Let's look at the factors which will play a critical role.

Factors which Influence Cost to Build a House

The primary factor is the total area to be built. The total cost divided by the total area will give the average cost per square feet.

The next factor is how fancy you would like to make your house, in other words a modular home. If you want to have a gourmet kitchen, it will naturally increase the cost of the total project, same is the case if you want a Swiss bath, it will naturally come with an increased price tag. Some of you might consider unique flooring, such as marble, for the entire house, this is if you stay in warmer climates, or wooden flooring, in cooler regions. There is a huge difference in the cost of marble flooring and ceramic tiles. Installing ceramic tile flooring are way cheaper than marble flooring. If the house you are building is going to be a two story structure, you will need a staircase to connect the two floors. In case you want something fancy, the cost will be much more than getting a conventional set up for the building of your house. Some of you might want to have ceilings which are 10 feet tall. This is most certainly going to be a burden on your pockets. If you plan to build a ranch house for yourself you will probably end up building a living area of approximately 2000 square feet, under one single roof. Instead, if you build a colonial style multi-level house, the cost will be divided into half. Considering all the factors we have just hit on, the average cost to build a house will most certainly rise.

Along with all the personal requirements there are also many government policies, which you need to take into account. There are development impact fees, which you will have to pay to the government and this amount can run into a few thousands of dollars and can sometimes even amount to $50,000 based on the scale of your construction.

After taking care of the legalities comes the building material cost. There are many factors which will influence the building cost. Some of the other factors which can influence these costs are:

• The time of the year you choose to build the house can have an impact on the labor and material cost.
• Complexity of the project
• Economic times. In good economic times the cost of home construction will mount and the reverse will be true, during times of recession.
• Unemployment rate. If the unemployment rate is higher you will be able to find labor at lower costs. This will bring down the cost of your dream home.
• Weather conditions can increase or decrease the cost. For example, if there is dry clean weather, the work will be completed soon, and thus, it will reduce the cost of the project. However, if the time you have chosen is marred by rains, construction work will not be carried out and the cost will mount.
• Preparing the site for construction also burns a hole in the pocket.

This is not an exhaustive list. There are many other such factors which will influence the average cost to build a new house. There are some realtor's or builders who will measure the exterior dimension of the house. If that is case, the average cost to build a house will definitely increase, based on the extra outside help that you bring in.

It is therefore very difficult to give an accurate average cost to build a house.The cost increases with each step by step process of building a house. You will have to take all these factors into consideration. Since you are planning to build your new house, here's wishing you good luck in your endeavor!