Yes, per square foot estimates tend to be very misleading to home owners who are not aware of all details in new home construction.

It gives you a basic perspective, but does not explain details of what is included and type of materials used for all finishes. Client’s should not compare Custom Home Builders based on their preliminary estimates for construction per square foot. It goes way further into selections, quality of work and control of process.

There are 3 ways to reduce cost per square foot when building a new home.

1) Build faster and pre-order materials. Everything goes up in price and if you are able to lock it, it can reduce overall costs.

2) Larger homes cost less per square foot. Smaller homes with exactly the same quality materials will typically be more expensive per square foot.

3) Select less expensive materials, although this is the least preferred method to lower the cost of construction per square foot.

Typically garage and exterior space is excluded from calculation when pricing new home construction. Does that mean extra 500 sq ft of garage space will cost the same amount as everything else inside the house? No.

For example: 3800 sq ft modern home with triple garage and exterior covered deck can be calculated as 3800 x average $380. Large garage and exterior space such as covered decks is calculated separately and should not be more than $150-$200 per square foot.

During cost calculation for new home construction in Toronto we can assume basement staying unfinished or basic type of finishes. With more detailed plan our team can give exact cost, but at start it makes sense to stay at basic. When clients ask us if per square footage cost includes finishing basement, the answer is always “no, but basement doesn’t cost as much as main floor”. The house is already construction around basement with exterior walls, slab, ceiling and required insulation. The rest is to finish it and it is fair to assume basic finishes to be within $100 per square foot of basement space.

Before permit drawings and exact details are specified for finishes, it is simply impossible to get exact cost for home construction. Even with all details provided we are able to only estimate the cost from contractors. Remember that most of the detailed work is going to be near end of home construction, which can be a year from time of estimation and no one would guarantee prices for that long.

ALBO Homes breaks down all stages of construction for clients to understand cost of separate work and materials involved in each project.