Buying vs Building in today's market

Houses now are pretty high tech with 4 or 5 bathrooms

..darn it! I must be low tech, I just have 2 bathrooms....
Understandable tho'..I mean I know it was customary around the south to use "outhouses"..so I suppose 4 or 5 in house WC's, for you must be high tech in comparison, let alone high brow!!;-)

I didn't realize that when I asked the question, people would try to dazzle with word parsing and no answers...If you haven't built recently, there is no need to comment...If you have, I'd just like to know where you built and your approx. cost/sq...Red

Sandestin, Kelly Plantation, RiverCamps costs are 250 psf.

$250 a square foot is a good ballpark for a 2-3 story wood frame house in most of the Sowal communities. Concrete or ICF can be up to $200 more a square foot depending on the design.

It's hard to be specific because it varies so much depending on your exterior and interior finishes, if you have a pool or elevator, your appliance, electrical and plumbing fixture selections etc.

wow 250 psf and another 200 for blocks thats 450 psf......

for 450 psf I will can build you a taj mahal.....

nuff said.

Red, the post by scooter above displays the point I was making, with only one option the price psf nearly doubles. The price varies greatly re options; lot, plans, specs, my smartass answer was only 50% out of line....sorry.

Silver, I am also sorry about your being a low-tech guy, theres a lot of us people in here from the south who would like to hear details of what sounds like you are saying southern folk have evolved from an outhouse to 5 bathrooms now think thats high tech? My post simply meant that houses built on a normal lot around here have to be high tech simply to support the high dollar lot cost, thats all. Building your own house is like doing your own brain surgery, I am a builder (not soliciting your business because I am presently doing surgery on my brain) but would be glad to help you if you get in a jam.

Here is my take and it makes no assumptions about the current market conditions or whether now is a good time to buy or build - it only addresses question of whether one should build their dream house: IMHO, no-one should undertake the building of their house from scratch UNLESS they can do the following:

1) First: you should be engaged by and excited about the design and construction process - if you are not you will be in for a tough time. Some people love this and others abhor it - recognize which type you are.

2) Hire a GOOD architect that will listen to their clients and serve them well from the design process THROUGH construction. Make sure he/she is resourceful (again a good architect can be judicious with expensive materials and can take advantage of good resources/leads they have in their field by also sourcing inexpensive but beautiful finishes)

3) Hire a GOOD contractor - I know it seems like I am stating the obvious but I am constantly stunned when I hear the typical horror stories and then ask the typical probing questions and in less than 1 minute get to the AHA moment (meaning thorough research or checking our references or not paying the slightly higher commission could have predicted disaster).

4) Make sure that some-one (architect, GC or construction manager) will be supervising your construction schedule - and unless you have a lot of time to devote to this yourself do not try it alone thinking you will save some $$ (again unless you are armed with infinite patience and time - because it WILL take you 2-3 times as long to get the same task accomplished).

Good luck!

Concrete isn't always that much more expensive, but it can be depending on the design, which is why I was giving a range. Don't think it's always $200 more a square foot, but do be aware that it typical adds 7-10% to the total cost of the house.

Scoff at the prices if you want, but they've come DOWN as the market has slowed. Many new homeowners would have loved to have only paid $250!

I echo Chickpea that saving in the short term can cost a lot in the long term. One notoriously stingy family friend was annoyed at my lack of sympathy when he had expensive repairs and water damage after he built his lakefront home using a draftsperson who was still training at the local tech school and plywood he "rescued" from the stage sets of the U-2 Popmart tour. Go figure that complications ensued!

A friend of mine just bought a lot in cassine village which is 30 ft above sea level and is building.

He is building a house over and above the current code with high impact windows and doors. I believe he told me he is only paying about $165 a sq ft. greg Goodwin is his builder.

He is building a new house so he can get the insurance discounts. There are a couple of nice new houses in cassine for sale built to the new code also.

What is the Cassine house's construction type? $165 is impressive for Sowal high end construction w/ impact windows and doors.

Wow, thats a great price and I think Greg is a good builder. Dont know how he does it for that, would be interested in more details. Just recently I got a quote on those windows you mentioned and the windows alone uninstalled was over 30k. Is there some undisclosed info here?

Scooter, thats the funniest thing I ever heard about the guy using used plywood and cheap plans. I think that inflation is definitely on the rise, I also think the dollar is almost worthless and I also think that some hard assets like real estate is a good hedge against inflation and the worthless dollar; albeit market doldrums. This is a great time to find a bargain and buy; building costs are still high (impact windows) but its the only way to get exactly what you want. Its cheaper to find a deal than to build tho. Course I would spend big bucks re-building it like I wanted it so there you go.

Please consider the following facts in your analysis of buy or build:

1- commodity prices have risen 12% in the last 3 MONTHS.

2-oil is over $80 per barrel

3-agricultural products prices (bread, milk,etc.) are rising dramatically

4-the US dollar is worth less every day and is dropping faster than believed

5-the fed is expected to drop rates Tuesday, creating more cons. demand

IN VIEW OF THE ABOVE FACTS YOU SHOULD BUY ASAP. BUILDING COSTS ARE GOING TO EXPLODE. BUYING NOW IS THE BEST CHOICE NOT BUILDING.

Concrete isn't always that much more expensive, but it can be depending on the design, which is why I was giving a range. Don't think it's always $200 more a square foot, but do be aware that it typical adds 7-10% to the total cost of the house.

Scoff at the prices if you want, but they've come DOWN as the market has slowed. Many new homeowners would have loved to have only paid $250!

I echo Chickpea that saving in the short term can cost a lot in the long term. One notoriously stingy family friend was annoyed at my lack of sympathy when he had expensive repairs and water damage after he built his lakefront home using a draftsperson who was still training at the local tech school and plywood he "rescued" from the stage sets of the U-2 Popmart tour. Go figure that complications ensued!

Well, even though it didn't work out, wow! What a story!!

Construction in Cassine Village is not typical concrete homes, like you find in Alys Beach, and much of Rosemary. However, there are some nice homes, most are stick built. On a similar note to the cost of Greg Goodwin, in Cassine, today, I spoke with a local builder, who does quality construction, and built my last house and the one I'm currently in. He is in the final process of completing a stick built home in Daughettes for a cost to the customer of $145 per sq ft. The homes is nice (not fancy, but nice), with some upgrades like wood ceilings and a nice fireplace, and a couple of cost saving features, like stained and scored concrete flooring, which offset the costs of the upgrades. Scott Wensel, of Baywoods Development, is the builder. Scott has built in many neighborhoods in Pt Washington, as well as WaterColor, WaterSound, Seacrest Beach, and others.

contact info
Scott Wensel
SHWensel@yahoo.com

I've got a good friend who was quoted approx. $178 including some upgrades...that's the reason I posed the original question to see if that was average...What the code regarding concrete first floors, I thought it was a requirement w/in certain distance to the beach but am obviously wrong...What is it?

I've got a good friend who was quoted approx. $178 including some upgrades...that's the reason I posed the original question to see if that was average...What the code regarding concrete first floors, I thought it was a requirement w/in certain distance to the beach but am obviously wrong...What is it?

I know of no such codes regarding type of flooring required for home construction. Anyone else heard of one?

I know of no such codes regarding type of flooring required for home construction. Anyone else heard of one?

Perhaps they're in a flood zone? I know that anything below an 8 ft elevation needs to be "waterproof", but generally anything below 8 ft, can't be real "living space".

Excuse me, we are talking about apples and oranges here. Our homes are
comparable to "sweet" homes and we have built several in burnt pine.
Our 250 psf includes a 25k plan allowance from our architect, 70k cabinet allowance, and a 65k pool/enclosure allowance among other things. All our countertops including bathrooms are granite. Appliances are high end
stainless. This is for approx 5000 sf home. Sorry for the confusion but this
type of discussion always results in confusion when you compare apples to oranges.

Construction in Cassine Village is not typical concrete homes, like you find in Alys Beach, and much of Rosemary. However, there are some nice homes, most are stick built. On a similar note to the cost of Greg Goodwin, in Cassine, today, I spoke with a local builder, who does quality construction, and built my last house and the one I'm currently in. He is in the final process of completing a stick built home in Daughettes for a cost to the customer of $145 per sq ft. The homes is nice (not fancy, but nice), with some upgrades like wood ceilings and a nice fireplace, and a couple of cost saving features, like stained and scored concrete flooring, which offset the costs of the upgrades. Scott Wensel, of Baywoods Development, is the builder. Scott has built in many neighborhoods in Pt Washington, as well as WaterColor, WaterSound, Seacrest Beach, and others.

contact info
Scott Wensel
SHWensel@yahoo.com

Rambunkscious specifically states that his houses have SS appliances, granite countertops, and allowances for architectural plans, pool, and cabinets. The PSF is $250 for 5,000 sqaure feet.

Is this for a stick home, concrete block, ICF, or some combination thereof?

"The Real Estate Book", Volume 10, Number 9, which I picked up recently, advertised a home in Rosemary Beach having 5 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms with permanent Gulf views for 2.299M.

Do the informed and experienced folks with current market information believe that one can buy a lot with permanent Gulf views and build thereon a house typifying construction at Rosemary Beach for a lower cost than the aforementioned home advertised for sale in "The Real Estate Book"?

The adage of "the devil is in the details" is certainly appropraite when discussing the advantages or disadvantages of buying or building in today's market.

Looking forward to more thoughts and opinions.

Journey, this is for a frame home.

Please read my post number 39. Coming from a builder I state in that post that it is more economically feasible to search out an existing home who someone is motivated to sell and buy it. I believe this makes more economic sense than to build something from scratch because building costs are still high and I believe, please see subsequent post, I list 5 reasons why construction costs are headed higher.

However everyone is not motivated by economics. Some people want what they want. One realtor on here mentioned the sex appeal factor and that
is why some people drive ferraris vs fords. When we get older we want and deserve some wants (not needs).

I've got a good friend who was quoted approx. $178 including some upgrades...that's the reason I posed the original question to see if that was average...What the code regarding concrete first floors, I thought it was a requirement w/in certain distance to the beach but am obviously wrong...What is it?

This is the case in South Florida, but not in the Panhandle (yet).

This is the case in South Florida, but not in the Panhandle (yet).

So is what your saying that when you see a sfr being built with a concrete block first floor frame that its a significant upgrade and not part of code now?...Red

If you mean FIRST FLOOR WALLS....you say first floor concrete....wtf....

It is not code that the first floor walls be built out of concrete anywhere in the state of florida, its just common practice to do it in south and central florida. In south and central florida, some houses are still built with wood framing on the first floor. If built out of wood framing, they have to be heavily
connected to the foundation with metal rods and connectors.

First floor blocks are recommended here but there is a shortage of blockmasons here, ie, not enough legal or illegal mexican labor. So the cost is exhorbitant.

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