New house cost

[ProRmk800]

As you all know the used house market in some areas of Alberta is extremely high. I'm located in NE Alberta and for what you pay and for what you get is stupid. I'm kinda leaning towards building a house now if the cost was right thinking down the road it might be a better investment. My first question is what does everyone think the used and new house market will do in this economic down fall. Will used drop now that people are losing jobs and will the market get flooded with houses lowering price or is alberta always gonna have a high price used house market. On a other hand are new houses gonna slow down now and maybe contractors lower there building cost or now with low interest rates is there gonna be a huge demand for new houses. How cheap can you build a house these days? I'd be looking to build a 1500 sq ft house 2 level basement and upstairs with a double attach garage. Two bathrooms and one in the master bedroom. For rooms probably 3 up 3 down and the kitchen nothing fancy same with the finishing and flooring of the house. I'm just curious what is the new cost to build a house I'm not looking to get a final estimate on here just looking for rough estimates. Any info would be helpful
cheers!

 

[whoDEANie]

As you all know the used house market in some areas of Alberta is extremely high. I'm located in NE Alberta and for what you pay and for what you get is stupid. I'm kinda leaning towards building a house now if the cost was right thinking down the road it might be a better investment. My first question is what does everyone think the used and new house market will do in this economic down fall. Will used drop now that people are losing jobs and will the market get flooded with houses lowering price or is alberta always gonna have a high price used house market. On a other hand are new houses gonna slow down now and maybe contractors lower there building cost or now with low interest rates is there gonna be a huge demand for new houses. How cheap can you build a house these days? I'd be looking to build a 1500 sq ft house 2 level basement and upstairs with a double attach garage. Two bathrooms and one in the master bedroom. For rooms probably 3 up 3 down and the kitchen nothing fancy same with the finishing and flooring of the house. I'm just curious what is the new cost to build a house I'm not looking to get a final estimate on here just looking for rough estimates. Any info would be helpful
cheers!

I have a colleague that built his own house about 6 years ago. He claims that he saved close to 50% by self performing all the work.

 

[Stompin Tom]

As you all know the used house market in some areas of Alberta is extremely high. I'm located in NE Alberta and for what you pay and for what you get is stupid. I'm kinda leaning towards building a house now if the cost was right thinking down the road it might be a better investment. My first question is what does everyone think the used and new house market will do in this economic down fall. Will used drop now that people are losing jobs and will the market get flooded with houses lowering price or is alberta always gonna have a high price used house market. On a other hand are new houses gonna slow down now and maybe contractors lower there building cost or now with low interest rates is there gonna be a huge demand for new houses. How cheap can you build a house these days? I'd be looking to build a 1500 sq ft house 2 level basement and upstairs with a double attach garage. Two bathrooms and one in the master bedroom. For rooms probably 3 up 3 down and the kitchen nothing fancy same with the finishing and flooring of the house. I'm just curious what is the new cost to build a house I'm not looking to get a final estimate on here just looking for rough estimates. Any info would be helpful
cheers!

I would hold off for about 6 months and see where the Oil prices really go. If there is just a short term blip prices wont go down much, but if it looks like it will last for awhile then you could see the bottom fall out of the housing market. It is well know that housing today is generally over priced, a recession will only correct that, not raise it.

 

[Summitric]

Better than living in vancouver.... A $350,000 house in edmonton would go for almost a million $ in vancouver and area.....

 

[rzrgade]

Need more info, such as is this house in town,acreage or farm ? All this will have a bearing on house costs.
A few thing to consider. You can no longer build your own house without Alberta new home warranty. This will cost you 15000$ + just to start with and A LOT of hoops to jump through.

If you hire a contractor / builder you are looking at around 220$ per SF + 70$ SF to Finnish the basement (apx) , very rough guess . However that should get you a decent starter home. Or let's say,close to 450000$.
That would not include your land or services . Services are a real wild card , count on at lest 50000 to start.....On an Acreage.

As as an owner builder, you would be responsible for various warranty claims for up to 10 years.
I would think it would be really hard to find a builder who would allow you to do some of the work on the house yourself, as he would have to guarantee your work, under his name.

House prices likely won't drop much , if any, through this down turn....imo. 3 years from now, they will be higher than they are now....we will see a buyers market,and that is something you can take real advantage of, in the next while....

Now would be a great time to look for a deal on a run down/ must sell house situation. It would be a chance to save big time money on a major Reno,if you are "handy"......
Labor and trades will be easier to find in the next while,and interest rates for money is at an all time low....

Good luck!

 

[ProRmk800]

Better than living in vancouver.... A $350,000 house in edmonton would go for almost a million $ in vancouver and area.....

That's tough lol

 

[arff]

Rzrgade is right on his info. Find a fixer up one at a good price. Easy to find contractors and repair people or do it yourself. In our area prices are not going down and the real real estate market is busy.

 

[Stompin Tom]

Better than living in vancouver.... A $350,000 house in edmonton would go for almost a million $ in vancouver and area.....

The difference in Vancouver is not the price of the house, it is the price of the land. There is a limited supply of land therefor a high demand and an even higher cost. In Edmonton you just pave another farmers field and you have another 200 new city lots.

 

[ProRmk800]

Need more info, such as is this house in town,acreage or farm ? All this will have a bearing on house costs.
A few thing to consider. You can no longer build your own house without Alberta new home warranty. This will cost you 15000$ + just to start with and A LOT of hoops to jump through.

If you hire a contractor / builder you are looking at around 220$ per SF + 70$ SF to Finnish the basement (apx) , very rough guess . However that should get you a decent starter home. Or let's say,close to 450000$.
That would not include your land or services . Services are a real wild card , count on at lest 50000 to start.....On an Acreage.

As as an owner builder, you would be responsible for various warranty claims for up to 10 years.
I would think it would be really hard to find a builder who would allow you to do some of the work on the house yourself, as he would have to guarantee your work, under his name.

House prices likely won't drop much , if any, through this down turn....imo. 3 years from now, they will be higher than they are now....we will see a buyers market,and that is something you can take real advantage of, in the next while....

Now would be a great time to look for a deal on a run down/ must sell house situation. It would be a chance to save big time money on a major Reno,if you are "handy"......
Labor and trades will be easier to find in the next while,and interest rates for money is at an all time low....

Good luck!

This house would be in town. Thanks for the great info very helpful

 

[Stompin Tom]

This house would be in town. Thanks for the great info very helpful

I think rzrgade is a bit ambitious in his prediction that housing wont drop through this downturn.

 

[SHREK1]

Just finishing a bungalow , 250.00 sqft plus 90.00 sqft for finished area in basement, depending on taste 10-30% in upgrades! but at 250 you should get nice finishings. That is with a double for a garage. Would not hesitate to build, if you doing it for revenue then wait and see if prices slide, if your going to live in it and enjoy it the get at it, when you sell you will make $$$$$

 

[rzrgade]

I think rzrgade is a bit ambitious in his prediction that housing wont drop through this downturn.

Simply put , if your assumption of lower house prices is based off of low oil prices then there is no need to worry. Oil will come back. Always has always will....I would agree that in certain areas , the hit will be harder and last longer , but if you are not selling , it really does not matter.....

For all of you waiting for houses to drop by 50% , buy lotto tickets....way better odds.

 

[TylerG]

Simply put , if your assumption of lower house prices is based off of low oil prices then there is no need to worry. Oil will come back. Always has always will....I would agree that in certain areas , the hit will be harder and last longer , but if you are not selling , it really does not matter.....

For all of you waiting for houses to drop by 50% , buy lotto tickets....way better odds.

lottery isn't working for me right now Neville...... going to be in a selling to buy mode in the coming months, just got some "renovations" to take care of to the current place and its going on the market, hoping to see some "local" acreages come down some in price without having to go out too far west.

 

[gates559]

If you want a new home buy a builders spec. They are in competition with each other and if you catch them at the right time their not to bad of a deal.

No such thing as a cheap new build anymore. With new home warranty and the banking system and insurance all working together starting in 2014, your not getting a deal on a new build.

Only way a home owner is going to play contractor now is if they have their own cash to do the build, no mortgage.

New homes will keep going up and so will the used market. They may have some small pull backs along the way but up is where there heading over time same as they
always have.

 

[rzrgade]

Good luck T, I would look at in this light . It is really not a matter of prices dropping . It is a matter of supply and demand, your ability to negotiate a good deal will be much stronger for the next while...for example if you find a property that interests you, instead of multiple potential buyers , you may be the only one interested.
This does not mean a % discount across the board, more likly a chance to pursue better negotiations on specific properties....
Also as I said earlier on here , the "diamonds in the rough " become much cheaper to buy / harder to sell. At the same time , the cost to upgrade and renovate will decrease slightly. So , along with great interest rates, the opportunities in housing are approaching prime time....IMO

 

[KevinA]

Need more info, such as is this house in town,acreage or farm ? All this will have a bearing on house costs.
A few thing to consider. You can no longer build your own house without Alberta new home warranty. This will cost you 15000$ + just to start with and A LOT of hoops to jump through.

If you hire a contractor / builder you are looking at around 220$ per SF + 70$ SF to Finnish the basement (apx) , very rough guess . However that should get you a decent starter home. Or let's say,close to 450000$.
That would not include your land or services . Services are a real wild card , count on at lest 50000 to start.....On an Acreage.

As as an owner builder, you would be responsible for various warranty claims for up to 10 years.
I would think it would be really hard to find a builder who would allow you to do some of the work on the house yourself, as he would have to guarantee your work, under his name.

House prices likely won't drop much , if any, through this down turn....imo. 3 years from now, they will be higher than they are now....we will see a buyers market,and that is something you can take real advantage of, in the next while....

Now would be a great time to look for a deal on a run down/ must sell house situation. It would be a chance to save big time money on a major Reno,if you are "handy"......
Labor and trades will be easier to find in the next while,and interest rates for money is at an all time low....

Good luck!

having signed my name on many new home warranty forms being a project manager for a home builder there is a section to note warranty exclusions. ie: HO supplies own appliances or decides to use a contractor/supplier other then the builders preferred contractors/suppliers.

i have built my own house 7 years ago now. i did save a lot of money doing pretty much all the work my self besides the mechanical work. it is a 1540 sqft home on acreage with decent finishes and cost just over $110,000 including septic tank/field and driveway. so around $70-75/sqft. given i had to build on piles to make it a movable structure because of zoneing laws at the time (2nd house on property and couldn't subdivide at the time, done so now) so some savings on getting out of the ground... around $15,000 or so.

 

[52weekbreak]

If you can find a patch of dirt (city lot or acreage) you might consider the RTM houses. Most are quite well built and cost about $120 square foot. An option to look at. Good luck

 

[ProRmk800]

Just finishing a bungalow , 250.00 sqft plus 90.00 sqft for finished area in basement, depending on taste 10-30% in upgrades! but at 250 you should get nice finishings. That is with a double for a garage. Would not hesitate to build, if you doing it for revenue then wait and see if prices slide, if your going to live in it and enjoy it the get at it, when you sell you will make $$$$$

When you talk 90.00$ per sq ft that includes framing,dry walling, finishing flooring, trim and bathrooms? And was there extra cost associated with the garage or that was include in the 250$ per sq ft

 

[ProRmk800]

Need more info, such as is this house in town,acreage or farm ? All this will have a bearing on house costs.
A few thing to consider. You can no longer build your own house without Alberta new home warranty. This will cost you 15000$ + just to start with and A LOT of hoops to jump through.

If you hire a contractor / builder you are looking at around 220$ per SF + 70$ SF to Finnish the basement (apx) , very rough guess . However that should get you a decent starter home. Or let's say,close to 450000$.
That would not include your land or services . Services are a real wild card , count on at lest 50000 to start.....On an Acreage.

As as an owner builder, you would be responsible for various warranty claims for up to 10 years.
I would think it would be really hard to find a builder who would allow you to do some of the work on the house yourself, as he would have to guarantee your work, under his name.

House prices likely won't drop much , if any, through this down turn....imo. 3 years from now, they will be higher than they are now....we will see a buyers market,and that is something you can take real advantage of, in the next while....

Now would be a great time to look for a deal on a run down/ must sell house situation. It would be a chance to save big time money on a major Reno,if you are "handy"......
Labor and trades will be easier to find in the next while,and interest rates for money is at an all time low....

Good luck!

would most contractors include the price of a two car attach garage in the price of 220 per sq ft or is the garage extra

 

[ProRmk800]

If you can find a patch of dirt (city lot or acreage) you might consider the RTM houses. Most are quite well built and cost about $120 square foot. An option to look at. Good luck

I've thought about that but I don't know what a basement would cost and 2 car detached garage would cost on top of that 80-100,000$ or am I out to lunch