Why Custom Home Square-Footage Costs are Often Misleading

AMHERST, Ohio – New home construction square-footage costs can often be misleading. This is because home builders typically showcase a cost-per-square-foot value using builder-grade products to build the home.

For example, a home builder may use a noisy bathroom exhaust fan that moves the minimum amount of CFM air exchanges required.

By contrast, working with a custom home builder will give you the option to choose the exact quality of your bathroom exhaust fan. This gives you the option to select a much quieter fan , that supports more CFM air exchanges. These CFM air exchanges better protect your bathroom from condensation created by a shower, or Jacuzzi tub. Great Possibilities’ recent article elaborated on the subject: Choosing the Perfect Bathroom Exhaust Fan

Any home buyer should be aware that some builders will take advantage of adding addendum’s without the home buyers prior documented approval. In doing so, the cost of building a new home can quickly escalate beyond the budget parameters within your contract. There shouldn’t be any hidden addendum’s with out prior approval, and knowing exactly what the cost is.

A home that is estimated at $100 per square-foot may appear to be a great deal, at the cost of using builder-grade materials. You will get a larger home, but it may not include all the additional quality features that you desire.

Utilizing higher-end energy saving materials such as Icynene Spray Foam Insulation, which can help reduce energy bills by up to 50%, often comes at a more transparent cost, but the added savings can exceed the cost of the insulation in just 3 to 4 years, providing greater return-on investment.

Another example would be selecting furnace options. For $400 more, you can upgrade to a 98% high-efficiency modulating furnace, that could potentially pay for itself during your first winter.

Moral of the story? Savvy homeowners, and builders, are not driven by face-value prices pertaining to square-footage. While some features of homebuilding can be more flexible, the foundational components do not allow for cutting corners.

When it comes to size and square-footage pricing models for your home, focus on investing in quality materials that match your budget, and recognize thatcutting costs on foundational energy saving components is often going to cost more overtime. 

We recommend working with a custom home builder that can personally sit down with you to help you select these various home building components, to help you select products that will provide the most return-on-investment,while staying within your budget to build your new home.