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Old 04-04-2011, 03:54 PM
 
483 posts, read 1,562,293 times
Reputation: 1454

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I'm from Calif. Here, construction costs for a 2-story semi-luxury home runs about $200-225 per sq foot (not including land, permits, or running utilities to the house). From looking at housing prices in nice areas like Sugar Land, it seems construction costs are $90-120 per SF for an identical house in Houston et al.

I'm pretty surprised about the price difference. Material costs make up 1/2 of the construction cost and should be nearly the same between any region. So what would explain the $100+/SF difference? Labor can't be THAT much cheaper, unless they're paying carpenters $2 per hour in Houston.
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Old 04-04-2011, 04:03 PM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,547,023 times
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The land/lot value is very low out there.

You will find your 200-300 psf closer in. Areas like West U, River Oaks and Memorial (Bunker Hill, Piney Point and Hedwig) and the Memorial areas of 77055 and 77079.

Just like Cali, it's all about location.
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Old 04-04-2011, 04:07 PM
 
483 posts, read 1,562,293 times
Reputation: 1454
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused View Post
The land/lot value is very low out there.

You will find your 200-300 psf closer in. Areas like West U, River Oaks and Memorial (Bunker Hill, Piney Point and Hedwig) and the Memorial areas of 77055 and 77079.

Just like Cali, it's all about location.
Did you read the post? I asked about construction costs not land value
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Old 04-04-2011, 04:09 PM
 
1,211 posts, read 3,565,283 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by josh u View Post
Did you read the post? I asked about construction costs not land value
she can't help herself...
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Old 04-04-2011, 04:12 PM
 
Location: Hougary, Texberta
9,019 posts, read 14,336,959 times
Reputation: 11033
I would compare building codes. There are no requirements in Houston for earthquake tolerance, and limited codes for hurricane resistance. In Sugarland, there would be none. The closer you get to the coast, the more there are.

There also isn't the bureaucracy that there is in CA. No CARB dictating what paint/finishes/etc. you can use. No mandated recycling or waste mitigation. All these costs are passed straight on to the homeowner.
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Old 04-04-2011, 04:55 PM
 
958 posts, read 2,579,836 times
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You forget it is much easier & Cheaper to do business in Texas than it is in LA.
You'll be surprised how much taxes a business pays.
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Old 04-04-2011, 05:02 PM
 
Location: Houston, TX
469 posts, read 1,103,740 times
Reputation: 442
Unions also drive up the cost of construction.
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Old 04-05-2011, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Houston, Tx
8,227 posts, read 11,171,240 times
Reputation: 8198
Cheap land, Cheap labor, No Zoning.
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Old 04-05-2011, 09:02 AM
 
Location: TX
94 posts, read 295,470 times
Reputation: 57
Cheap labor/workers (illegally in this country of course), cheap materials, cheap standards, shortcuts on quality
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Old 04-05-2011, 09:14 AM
 
Location: Tricity, PL
62,045 posts, read 87,760,434 times
Reputation: 132137
^^^ Yeah, I would think the same. The quality might be lower. 2x4 and plywood ...
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