Part 3 of Understanding “Price per Square Foot” for Custom Homes in the Greater Austin and Hill Country areas of Texas

Steve Zbranek continues to answer questions from both Real Estate professionals and Clients regarding the costs associated with building a custom home.  Zbranek, the 2011 & 2010 National Master Builder of the Year offers the following conclusion on this series addressing  these many questions.

Understanding “Price per Square Foot” for Custom Homes, Part 3

In this final section of “understanding price and cost per square foot” we will examine the effects of Finish Out Selections on the ultimate cost to build a custom home.

In the prior discussions on the topic, we covered plan design and geometry, development costs and the effect of outdoor living areas in the new home budget.  So, the question of “how much per square foot can you build a 4000 square foot home for” is essentially unanswerable without more information.  Some of that information will come from you, the home buyer.  Specifically, what features you want in your home.

An oversized kitchen island is enhanced by specially selected granite and a custom designed chandelier

Let’s examine a few line items.  For the purposes of this exercise we will stay with the example of a 4000 square foot custom home used in Parts 1 & 2 of this series. To upgrade from a composition shingle roof to either a tile or metal roof on our subject home will cost approximately $30,000 more at approximately $7.50/ per square foot (PSF).   To change from high efficiency, low E vinyl windows and exterior doors to a clad wood window and door system you will need another $40,000 at $10/ PSF.  Today people don’t use carpeting nearly as much as when most of us were growing up.  The result, wood, travertine or other natural stone products and many tiles are easily $10/PSF more to buy than “nice” carpeting.  Over the entire home, add another $10/PSF to the total cost.  Cabinets have morphed into another expensive line item all together!  Today buyers want cabinets in virtually every room…custom designed cabinets that are stained and with all of the bells and whistles that are now available.  You guessed it, another $6 to $9/PSF, garage sizes, patio floor covering, lighting, kitchen appliances (one customer spent $ 7,000 on her refrigerator), trim details and many other owner selected items affect the final number of our original 4000 square foot home.

Large French style glass doors and oversized windows bring the outdoors into this Master Bedroom

The bottom line is, giving  you a “price per square foot” of a home in Greater Austin without knowing much more about the factors discussed in these three sections is virtually impossible for us at Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes. Or anyone else for that matter!

As I mentioned previously, “How much per square foot?” is greatly determined by the location of the building, the size, the design and finish out of the outdoor living area, as well as the overall finish out selections outlined here.  Hopefully this series has demonstrated that if someone is prepared to quote a price per square foot of a building out of thin air, (not seeing the site, building or finish out) they are making assumptions in these areas that may not be valid for the subject project.

Steve Zbranek, Owner/Partner of Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes is a nationally recognized, award winning custom home builder in Austin Texas with over 32 years in the home building industry.  Zbranek has been awarded the National Master Builder of the Year for both 2011 and 2010.  Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes is the recipient of both the 2010 Texas State and Austin Custom Home Builder of the Year Awards as well as the 2011 Austin Business Journals Custom Home Builder of the Year, in addition to  the 2010 Business of the Year for the Lake Travis Chamber of Commerce.

He and his business partner, Tony Holt build only “Pre-Sold” custom luxury homes, electing not to buy lots or build any speculative inventory.  They strive to offer clients the best possible experience while building their dream home utilizing highly skilled craftsmen.  All Project Managers with Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes are Certified Master Builders as well as Certified Green Professional Builders. Zbranek & Holt Custom Homes proudly builds throughout Greater Austin, Westlake Hills, Lakeway, Lake Travis, Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, Georgetown and Round Rock Texas.

Posted on Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011 | Categories: Articles, In the Press, News Updates, Steve Zbranek, Tony Holt