Why is new construction so expensive?

>>1065532
And windows, insulation, wiring, plumbing, heating, drywall...
Good building supplies cost good money, and it's not like one man can put a complete house together that can pass code in a reasonable span of time.

>>1065532
You're right, new house construction with two floors should be about $600/sq ft, not counting the foundation, or permitting soft costs.

>>1065542
Nah, depends on area but $250/sq ft for average grade quality materials is about industry standard. This price is climbing as trends and design change. In CA $300 /ftis normal, but i've seen $425 in nicer houses. Others in my field have seen $600 in high end places.

$100/sq foot is dirt fucking cheap. Yeah an individual 2x4, sheet of drywall, square of shingles, gallon of paint, board foot of trim, or outlet is kinda cheap. But multiply all those out to however much is needed. Then consider the most expensive rooms in the house: kitchen and bathrooms. These have cabinets, and cabinets are fuckin expensive at $250+ per linear foot, most average houses have a couple dozen or more lineal feet of cabinetry. It all adds up.

Then you have to account for the labor of skilled craftsman to build the fuckin thing without being a total shitbox 20 years from now.

If you're finding very similar houses for $50k, that means they're likely very old, inferior construction not up to modern code, needs repair, or something you're just not reading correctly. What calculator are you using, and how are you finding houses that cheap for sale? I don't think you could find a 2000 sq foot house for $50k. Even modular houses and trailers cost more than that.

>source: I'm an estimator

>>1065532
Wait, wait, wait, are you saying that buying USED is cheaper than buying NEW? Stop the presses!

>>1065561
Fucking this.

>>1065561
I'm in Santa barbara, and still salty my simple 2nd story addition came in at $700,000 estimated.

And I don't know upstate newyork but it sounded fancy and like it should be just as expensive.

>>1065575
hahaha I'm in SB as well. Your contractor gave you SB pricing. Go around Ventura or more east, or north into the valley and Santa Maria for better pricing. They'll charge you a bit for travel, but it'll still be cheaper. I still can't figure out how people afford houses in SB.

I had a contractor quote me $775/square foot for a new construction house on top of an existing slab. Found a competing contractor that quoted $400 including drive and supplies.

>>1065561
$50k homes are fairly common in relatively undesirable parts of the country. The average house in the city proper where I'm at is around 50k. Many of those homes are pre-war however and haven't seen much in the way of updates since constructed. A friend bought a home built in the 1800s a couple years ago and stripped it; place is a wreck and everything needs to be redone more or less.

>>1065532
Those sound like stick built McMansion prices, if you are willing to live in something more modest or prefabbed then those prices will tumble.

>>1065535
>it's not like one man can put a complete house together that can pass code in a reasonable span of time

All the more reason to get something like trailer on site and take your sweet time to build the home you really want.