how are housing construction costs so low??

[astrohip]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

Houses are built to last 10-20 years<snip>

homeinatx's reply was a bit exaggerated. Certainly some homes are built better than others, just as, for example, cars. But even a less expensive home has to meet the building codes. And any home will last 50-60 years, and probably more*. You may be replacing items sooner in a less expensive home, but the home will stand for many, many years. There are still Ford Pintos on the road, too.


*Because I can hear the replies already, let me state... Yes, there are exceptions. Sometimes you get a POS builder who built such crap that the house needs leveling 5 years after completion. Or a builder who "forgot" to test the soil and the house is shifting. Or the roof is separating from the frame (geez, is THAT what I was supposed to do with those hurricane straps?). I'm not going to defend every builder or exception. IN GENERAL, houses are built to code and will last far longer than we will. They need maintenance, they need mechanicals updated & replaced, they need care. But they WILL last.

[ethanw]

Is all about cheap labor and unfortunately every builder does it. No matter if is a 20 Mil house or 600K you will always see the same crew of illegal and some legal mexicans doing the labor regardless of how much the charge for the house. You're not going to see german craftsman in the 20Mil house, that's for sure. Unless the government does something about it this will continue and is nothing that the consumer can do about it.
I've done the math in my house, I have an idea of material costs and I know what labor was paid, so all I can say that is a pretty lucrative business for the builder by using cheap labor. They do make a lot of money. But lastly a lot of that will also transfers to us the consumers as in CHEAP housing comparing with the other states....

[HugeTon]

Houses in Houston are cheap and they all look so nice. Bricks on the outside, nice wrought iron stair ways on the inside. Granite counter tops, cement drive way.

Houses here in Minneapolis are expensive and are not so nice looking. They use cheap labor and cheap material here too but it just so darn expensive here. I will take cheap and nice looking over expensive and ugly any day.

[josh u]

Originally Posted by HugeTon

Houses in Houston are cheap and they all look so nice. Bricks on the outside, nice wrought iron stair ways on the inside. Granite counter tops, cement drive way.

Houses here in Minneapolis are expensive and are not so nice looking. They use cheap labor and cheap material here too but it just so darn expensive here. I will take cheap and nice looking over expensive and ugly any day.

Yeah same here. I think the typical house is nicer in Houston than here in Calif but I think it's because there is so much new home construction there, and newer homes of course look nicer because they incorporate the latest fashion trends. The one thing I didn't like is that they tend to skimp on the neighborhoods there. I saw some 475k homes in Sugarland (475k would represent 2x the median). The homes were very nice but the neighborhoods weren't as nice as what I'd expect them to be. At twice the median you should have wide streets, 16000+ sq foot lots, and a wide-open look. The 4800 sf homes were cramped together on 7500 sf lots. I didn't like that. Also, when people park on the street and the lots are small, it makes the hood look more cramped. So you get a gorgeous home in a neighbohood that looks a bit like a neighborhood of median homes

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by josh u

Yeah same here. I think the typical house is nicer in Houston than here in Calif but I think it's because there is so much new home construction there, and newer homes of course look nicer because they incorporate the latest fashion trends. The one thing I didn't like is that they tend to skimp on the neighborhoods there. I saw some 475k homes in Sugarland (475k would represent 2x the median). The homes were very nice but the neighborhoods weren't as nice as what I'd expect them to be. At twice the median you should have wide streets, 16000+ sq foot lots, and a wide-open look. The 4800 sf homes were cramped together on 7500 sf lots. I didn't like that. Also, when people park on the street and the lots are small, it makes the hood look more cramped. So you get a gorgeous home in a neighbohood that looks a bit like a neighborhood of median homes

I will not argue with this - I do not know why the builders are so stingy with lot size - and it gets worse every year. This is why I like homes pre-2005 as opposed to the last few years - the lots keep getting smaller. In the state of wide,open spaces, that is ridiculous and just an indication of builder-greed. "Why put in 10 homes in this area - when we can cram in 15?" Homes built in the 70's and earlier have wonderful lots (usually). Now you have 3500 square feet homes with a tiny grass strip in the back. Think how close that makes the back neighbor.

[HugeTon]

Originally Posted by josh u

Yeah same here. I think the typical house is nicer in Houston than here in Calif but I think it's because there is so much new home construction there, and newer homes of course look nicer because they incorporate the latest fashion trends. The one thing I didn't like is that they tend to skimp on the neighborhoods there. I saw some 475k homes in Sugarland (475k would represent 2x the median). The homes were very nice but the neighborhoods weren't as nice as what I'd expect them to be. At twice the median you should have wide streets, 16000+ sq foot lots, and a wide-open look. The 4800 sf homes were cramped together on 7500 sf lots. I didn't like that. Also, when people park on the street and the lots are small, it makes the hood look more cramped. So you get a gorgeous home in a neighbohood that looks a bit like a neighborhood of median homes

I have noticed that too. Just been to Houston last week and went to see Cross Creek Ranch in person, man, they build beautiful houses out there. They built some half a million $ houses on not very big lots too. That probably explains why most of subdivisions put up cedar fences to conceal privacy.

Coming from Minneapolis, the lot that my house is currently sitting on is big, I tend to like the small size lots down in Houston. I just hate spending an hour outside mowing the lawn, excluding tending the landscape. I would rather spending time inside sipping margaritas and play with the kids than outside doing yard work. I love doing yard work but my ideal is an hour or less not more. Another issue is Houston is hot so having a small yard means less time watering the lawn, save money while still having a beautiful landscape. What good to have a big yard and to the point where it costs too much to water then let it goes brown. The problem is many of us always want big. Big house, big lots, big car, oh, and big Mac. Not my cup of tea anymore. Lesson learned.

[chris_ut]

Originally Posted by HugeTon

I have noticed that too. Just been to Houston last week and went to see Cross Creek Ranch in person, man, they build beautiful houses out there. They built some half a million $ houses on not very big lots too. That probably explains why most of subdivisions put up cedar fences to conceal privacy.

Coming from Minneapolis, the lot that my house is currently sitting on is big, I tend to like the small size lots down in Houston. I just hate spending an hour outside mowing the lawn, excluding tending the landscape. I would rather spending time inside sipping margaritas and play with the kids than outside doing yard work. I love doing yard work but my ideal is an hour or less not more. Another issue is Houston is hot so having a small yard means less time watering the lawn, save money while still having a beautiful landscape. What good to have a big yard and to the point where it costs too much to water then let it goes brown. The problem is many of us always want big. Big house, big lots, big car, oh, and big Mac. Not my cup of tea anymore. Lesson learned.

$1100/year in Houston gets you a guy who will take care of your lawn and landscaping for you.