Building single family home - Site development (Los Gatos: how much, house)

[cita2020a]

Hello Guys,
I was researching the cost for land development in the Chemeketa Park area in Los Gatos, CA. The site is hilly and would need potentially septic tank and water well. So far I have compiled following possible high level tasks needed for site development .


1.Permitting & Fees ~ $23K
2.Electrical connection
3.Survey
4.Engineering inspection
5.Water well
6.Septic System
7.Earthwork
-Grading: rough and final
-Site drainage
-Steep site: grading, cut and fill
7.Landscaping
8.Paving (asphalt or concrete)

For item 1. I found the approximate fees to be around $23 K from California Dept. of Housing


Does anyone have any ballpark estimate on total site development cost for a single family home ?

Thank you.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by cita2020a

Hello Guys,
I was researching the cost for land development in the Chemeketa Park area in Los Gatos, CA. The site is hilly and would need potentially septic tank and water well. So far I have compiled following possible high level tasks needed for site development .


1.Permitting & Fees ~ $23K
2.Electrical connection
3.Survey
4.Engineering inspection
5.Water well
6.Septic System
7.Earthwork
-Grading: rough and final
-Site drainage
-Steep site: grading, cut and fill
7.Landscaping
8.Paving (asphalt or concrete)

For item 1. I found the approximate fees to be around $23 K from California Dept. of Housing


Does anyone have any ballpark estimate on total site development cost for a single family home ?

Thank you.

I've never done greenfield, but to give an idea of (the outrageously high) costs here in the Bay Area, back during the late 90s we did a minor regrade around our foundation perimeter, french drains, two small retaining walls, plus foundation underpinning. That ran 80K. I'd imagine nearly double that figure now.

[Protagonista]

Regarding a possible septic system. I have dealt with 2. Its a steep learning curve and they can be a huge cost and heavily regulated.

If you are not familiar with them-I would start with finding out how many bedrooms the land "percs" for.

That will determine how many people can live in your house and impacts any resale value.

[cita2020a]

...and that 80K did not include Well and Septic system I guess ?

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

I've never done greenfield, but to give an idea of (the outrageously high) costs here in the Bay Area, back during the late 90s we did a minor regrade around our foundation perimeter, french drains, two small retaining walls, plus foundation underpinning. That ran 80K. I'd imagine nearly double that figure now.

[cita2020a]

Great info , thanks .
Any idea how much would a perc test cost in that area ?

Originally Posted by Protagonista

Regarding a possible septic system. I have dealt with 2. Its a steep learning curve and they can be a huge cost and heavily regulated.

If you are not familiar with them-I would start with finding out how many bedrooms the land "percs" for.

That will determine how many people can live in your house and impacts any resale value.

[phantompilot]

Most serious sellers will provide a perc test. Otherwise they may be hoping to sell the land to speculators cheaply. A lack of a perc test is sometimes a sign that the site has poor perc qualities and isn't easily developable for a residential use. (ie they already looked into it and got the bad news that an engineered system would be required).

I would get a good buyers agent that is well-experienced in land and development transactions. They can tell you more about the parcel and help you negotiate an offer properly contingent on the perc test (which should be about $1K).

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by cita2020a

...and that 80K did not include Well and Septic system I guess ?

Nope.