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Anyone know the cheapest way to build a home? Trying to find the price range to build single family home in Honolulu, just want the basic.
Bare bones cheap construction on a flat and level easily accessible lot with no site work requirements and full access to existing wastewater, water and power with cheap finishes will cost about $150/SF (for a 1,500 SF minimum sized home). The larger the home, the lower the cost per SF (generally speaking) but $150/SF is good starting point for an ultra basic mid-sized home. Compact homes (i.e. <1,500 SF) will cost more per SF to build. $200/SF is a good starting point for a basic compact sized home.
A standard sized home with additional bathrooms, larger kitchens and decent (not fancy) finishes/appointments will start around $200/SF and can go up wildly from there ($300+/SF) depending on finishes. Luxury homes generally start at about $300-$400/SF to build.
If the home is on a sloped mountainside or near the ocean, add $50-$75/SF to the build cost.
My Honolulu condo would sell for $1,475 a sf. When I did cost studies in San Francisco a few years ago hard and soft costs for mid to high mid range were about $350. Entrepreneur costs were about another $250 per sf. That would be $600 a sf. That would be total for land and improvements.
I'm not sure what is being included in the low mentioned numbers.
I'm having a guest house built right now. 1,700 sq ft, 3 bedroom, 2.5 baths - I'd describe it as not fancy - mid range - $350K for the structure, flooring, finishes, appliances, etc. In Hawaii(specifically Oahu) the cost of the house isn't what is expensive, it's all about the land.
My Honolulu condo would sell for $1,475 a sf. When I did cost studies in San Francisco a few years ago hard and soft costs for mid to high mid range were about $350. Entrepreneur costs were about another $250 per sf. That would be $600 a sf. That would be total for land and improvements.
I'm not sure what is being included in the low mentioned numbers.
About 50% of the total build area of a condo goes to the actual condo unit. The other 50% represents the common area of the project (e.g. lobby, fire stairs, parking garage, hallways, recreation areas, pools and other amenities, etc etc). So if a condo has 1,000 SF of interior space, there is roughly another 1,000 SF of additional "structure" built to accommodate that one unit. General construction cost of an average (not luxury) mid rise or high rise condo is roughly $250/SF (overall average between common area and interiors + condo-only components like fire apparatus' elevators, shared amenities, etc). So the condo builder is in for about $500/SF for the condo unit only (what people actually pay for). Then add land cost, development cost, loan cost and risk assessment/return. When a condo developer sells for $700/SF in Hawaii, they are usually making a tiny margin.
On the plus side, with a condo development the expense of the land can be spread among many individually owned (and marketable) units. Whereas in a single family home the cost of the land goes entirely to one single unit. That's why on RPT assessments, you'll find that the land value is usually a mere 10-15% of the total value of a condo unit. Whereas in a single family home, the land could represent 70-80% of the total value of the property.
So either you put the housing expense into the structure (condo) or land (house).
It is mostly legal, unless you live in an area that expressly forbids it via HOA rules - For instance, I believe Mililani is a giant HOA and has rules and fees regarding your property.
It is mostly legal, unless you live in an area that expressly forbids it via HOA rules - For instance, I believe Mililani is a giant HOA and has rules and fees regarding your property.
Very true. HOA's are really located all over. On Oahu. The containers are still being thought about temp housing for the homeless. Will see how far it goes!
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