Price per sq. foot to build in SW Austin, TX (Dallas: home builder, landscaping)

[mikeff]

I live in Dallas, TX, and will be moving to Austin. We need wheelchair accessibility, so we have decided to build; preferably SW Austin.

We are retiring and only want something around 2700-3,000 sq. ft. First of all, are there any builders in Austin that would build a house that size, and if so, what is the average price per sq. ft.?

---mff

[pjoseph2]

Given the plethora of what could be built, it could be anywhere from $70 to $200 per sq ft. There is much to like about new, custom-built homes. A a lot of building methodologies have changed in the past decade, especially the intense focus on green building. Almost every builder claims the green badge, so tread carefully.

We explored the build-on-your-lot option, but ended up not going that route for unrelated reasons.

If you can find a nice, level lot in the area you want to live in (we did), that is a big breakthrough.

New home starts are scraping the bottom, and so builders are desperate for work. Labor pricing (which is the biggest component) should be very competitive right now. Building materials have not gone up too much (copper is up, lumber is down in the past year).

Hope that helps..

[mikeff]

Very helpful. Thank you.

Any possible references of a builder? I have looked on line at a few, and they build way out of my league; mostly hill country estates with a
grandiose architecture.
---Michael

[ScoPro]

pjoseph2 is correct.

I can recommend this custom home builder:

Marick Custom Homes


He built nice homes in the 3000 sq.ft. class for my brother, nephew, and a good friend. He has a crew that's been with him for many years. He'll build a ready-made plan or your own personal design, and will build it plain or fancy....whatever you want.

This is the rear elevation of the 3,200 sq.ft. house my retired brother designed & built about 9 years ago - Rick's architect cleaned it up pretty good. It's a one bedroom wheelchair access design with his & her studies/offices, large living area, huge eat in kitchen, sewing & laundry rooms, and a 1000 sq.ft. four car garage. Landscaping was added later. It cost about $500,000 to build including the one acre lot in Woodland Park near Georgeetown. 10' ceilings throughout - all exterior walls w/6" studs. 40 year roof.

[atlanta hope]

I've heard Scott Felder homes were good -- His father had built houses in my old neighborhood and people raved about him (the Dad). I looked at some houses at Independence Park that he built and they looked well built.

[pjoseph2]

2,700 to 3,000 sq ft is quite common in the Austin metro. SW Austin is lovely, but finding a desirable, close-in lot takes a bit of looking around. A teardown could be an alternative.

Good builders are a plenty. Don't have specific names though. i'd find one that builds ~ 12 to 20 homes a year. Personalized attention and scale of economics.

[mikeff]

Originally Posted by pjoseph2

2,700 to 3,000 sq ft is quite common in the Austin metro. SW Austin is lovely, but finding a desirable, close-in lot takes a bit of looking around. A teardown could be an alternative.

Good builders are a plenty. Don't have specific names though. i'd find one that builds ~ 12 to 20 homes a year. Personalized attention and scale of economics.

That's an interesting concept; a teardown. But maybe I should be looking in a differenrt area. Further south?

---michael

[pjoseph2]

Michael, Teardowns are more common in the Central core of Austin. 80 year old cottages replaced by umm, contemporary homes. There might be a few older communities in South Austin as well. But then what you build has to blend in.

Lot costs are directly proportional to the distance from the city center. Some central lots are really tiny, starting at 5,000 sq ft.

Since you mentioned retiring, you might want to consider New Braunfels and the Canyon Lake areas. There is a whole city (San Marcos) between them and Austin.

[jobert]

It might serve the OP well to get an accessibilty specialist involved. One gentleman I've worked with - David Deming, is quite knowledgable about handicap accessibility requirements and can offer plan reviews. We've used his services to review our documents for compliance with TAS and for submission to TDLR. He can review small projects as well for a reasonable cost, and he's a man of good integrity as well.

http://deming-designs.com/

Good luck.

[mikeff]

I was not aware there were people out there like that. Great idea!

Thanks!