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What would you guess that the cost of construction per square foot is these days in the Central Valley area (Grecia..Atenas…etc) is for a house “built to American standards”? I’m talking about a modest size home (1300 – 1500 sq. feet). Not looking for anything scientific but just a general ballpark type number assuming the builder is one that has an solid and established reputation and positive referrals and has been in the community for awhile. $60 sq./feet…$75 sq./feet…more….less? Thank You
If I were at the stage of just thinking about building, I’d be using a cost of $110US per square foot as my estimating factor. You may be able to build for less, but by the time you allow for site prep, utilities, permits, architect’s and engineer’s fees, unforeseen surprises, things that tweak your curiosity, etc, etc, etc, you’ll likely find that $110 isn’t too far off. And it’s always better to estimate high and come in low than the other way around.
That figure would not, of course, include the cost of the property you’re planning to build on.
You must be careful, too, of accepting lowball figures from local builders. There are lots of local “builders”, self-taught in many instances, who can mix and pour cement, lay block, etc, but that doesn’t assure you that their work would be anything like what you’re looking for. There’s a huge difference between enclosing space in order to exclude (most of) the rain and building a home that you’ll find comfortable and adequate to your needs.
We had one of these local guys build our guest house which was, in part, an experiment and learning opportunity. The result was pretty disappointing but it did point us in the right direction for the main house which turned out much, much better.
[quote=”DavidCMurray”]If I were at the stage of just thinking about building, I’d be using a cost of $110US per square foot as my estimating factor. You may be able to build for less, but by the time you allow for site prep, utilities, permits, architect’s and engineer’s fees, unforeseen surprises, things that tweak your curiosity, etc, etc, etc, you’ll likely find that $110 isn’t too far off. And it’s always better to estimate high and come in low than the other way around.
That figure would not, of course, include the cost of the property you’re planning to build on.
You must be careful, too, of accepting lowball figures from local builders. There are lots of local “builders”, self-taught in many instances, who can mix and pour cement, lay block, etc, but that doesn’t assure you that their work would be anything like what you’re looking for. There’s a huge difference between enclosing space in order to exclude (most of) the rain and building a home that you’ll find comfortable and adequate to your needs.
We had one of these local guys build our guest house which was, in part, an experiment and learning opportunity. The result was pretty disappointing but it did point us in the right direction for the main house which turned out much, much better.[/quote]
Good information. That’s why I would be patient and not rush as I would want to take as much time as needed to find someone that has a solid established track record and would come with excellent referrals as well as I would would want to see some of his previous work. But the info you provided is helpful. Thx.
[quote=”bogino”]What would you guess that the cost of construction per square foot is these days in the Central Valley area (Grecia..Atenas…etc) is for a house “built to American standards”? I’m talking about a modest size home (1300 – 1500 sq. feet). Not looking for anything scientific but just a general ballpark type number assuming the builder is one that has an solid and established reputation and positive referrals and has been in the community for awhile. $60 sq./feet…$75 sq./feet…more….less? Thank You[/quote]
Unfortunately there is no real answer to your question as you have asked it. No one can tell you the cost of construction until and unless you define what type of construction you want, and what you want it to include.
What are the characteristics of the property to be built on (terrain and subsurface conditions), what type of foundation is acceptable to you, will you need retention walls or beefed up structural columns, what type of walls (interior & exterior) do you want and how do you want them finished, metal roof structure or conventional framing, tile roof (concrete or clay), metal roof (tile-look, rolled zinc or architectural standing seam), interior finishes, built in cabinets and other furniture and closets (a wide range of prices), flooring (wood, stone or tile (both ceramic and porcelain are available in a very wide price range), number and quality of light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, appliances, windows, doors, etc., type of hot water system desired, wall heights, ceiling height and finishes, heating and cooling systems, pool or no pool, size and number of patios, fence or no fence, type and length of drive and walkways (stone, concrete, asphalt or pavers, etc.), exterior electrical requirements (how far are you from the closest transformer or power supply), is municipal water available or do you have to drill a well, do you need onsite domestic water storage and pressurized water system, septic requirements, storm water (how do you protect your property from surrounding runoff and get the water off of your property (unless you want to build a cistern), is landscaping included, will it need irrigation?????????
The questions never seem to end – – the above is only a part of the list I use when I sit down with prospective clients looking for someone to represent their interest (and be their advocate) on their new home project. But before a builder can offer you any semblance of an estimate you must be prepared to quantify and qualify answers to these questions and many more.
To me, you will be much better served by finding an architect that you trust and feel you can work (and communicate) with, and then educate him on the offsite and onsite conditions applicable to your property, and then give him your budget and hire him to design what you want to fit your budget. Your contract with him should specifically address his obligation to design to that budget and his continuing obligation to make all changes and redesigns until he accomplishes that task.
I want to give you an [u][b]extreme exaggeration[/b][/u] of what I am trying to say – forget about all of the questions I asked above and consider only this one:
how can anyone tell you how much a 1600sf house will cost when you can build it 40′ x 40′ and have 160 linear feet of perimeter foundations and exterior wall surfaces, or you can build it 100′ x 16′ and have 232 linear feet of perimeter foundations and exterior wall surfaces – almost 50% more of 2 expensive building components even though the roof area is exactly the same!As I said, that is an extreme exaggeration, but it accurately illustrates why no one can answer your questions until you give them all of the information.
Until then, your question falls into the same category as the rhetorical question: “How long is a string?”
and after the house is finished, there are still after-costs that can be quite high — for example, paving the driveway, retaining walls, drainage, and landscaping. depending on where you live, figure at least ten to fifteen grand for these things AFTER the house is done. so many people make the mistake of thinking that their house is finished when in fact that is when some of the other big costs actually kick in. and do not spare any expense on drainage. in this climate that is the most important issue to address.
crb and maravilla have it exactly right.
Truth be told, the only meaningful number is the one you get from a genuinely professional builder for the house your architect has designed to go on the property you own. Anything else is really just a guess. Your 1,600s/f house could cost half what mine did; or it could cost double.
Let me add one other design note to maravilla’s excellent advice about drainage: If there’s one mistake we’ve made it is that we failed to make provision for enough storage both inside the house and outside. You’ll need someplace for all the yard (and maybe mechanic’s) tools, the bulk fertilizer, the wheelbarrow, etc outside. And inside you’ll want extra space for the big boxes of cleaning materials, etc that you buy at PriceSmart. Overbuild storage. You won’t be disappointed.
$110 in Grecia eh? Hmmm..seems high by San Ramon standards for quality construction, including extras…..
[quote=”AndrewInCR”]$110 in Grecia eh? Hmmm..seems high by San Ramon standards for quality construction, including extras…..[/quote]
San Ramon is where my property is located and I also have heard estimated construction costs in the San Ramon area would be much less than $110 per square foot.
I understand we are talking about average costs and I assume we are all on the same page as far as level of quality of house design and construction. That leaves topography and demographics as the only differences between those two communities. From what I have seen, there is not too much difference in topography so that leaves demographics. It is my impression that there are many more expats in Grecia than San Ramon. That is the feel I get when I visit. Is this a possible reason for possible cost differences? And I wonder if this is changing as we speak.
A couple of clarifications . . .
First, what I wrote is that I’d use $110s/f as a planning tool to assess budget feasibility. If you have (say) $110,000 to spend and want to build a 3,000s/f home, you’re going to be in for a disappointment. That figure, too, allows for unforeseen inflation and unforeseen circumstances.
Second, the cost of labor per hour is determined by the government and is applied nationwide. Whether a builder is building in Grecia, in San Ramon, or anywhere else, and whether he’s building for an expat or a Costa Rican, his hourly cost for labor (typically 15% to 25% of the total cost) will be the same. Most construction workers work for the minimum wage in their occupational category.
Third, the cost of materials will not vary greatly from one community or source to another. There are, for example, two sources of cement in Costa Rica. Those two suppliers set the prices which impact upon the costs of mortar, block, concrete tube and everything else made with a cementitious base.
There may be more than one source of reinforcing bar, metal roofing, paint, etc, but you can be certain that in a country with a total population of about 4.25 million, there won’t be many, many such sources, and price competition has already entered the picture.
None of this is to suggest that a deal cannot be found. Depending upon how you buy your materials, you may get a significant discount. And depending upon whom you put your trust in, you may find a builder who will take less for his services. And competition among builders may cause them to shave their margins.
Too, you can opt for less expensive finishes — paint, tile, fixtures, cabinetry, windows, etc. As in all things, you get what you pay for. And you can skimp on the hidden things like wiring, plumbing, septic systems, the drainage that maravilla so convincingly emphasized, etc.
But my point remains. If I were at the stage of thinking about thinking about maybe building a house somewhere one day, regardless of where it is, I’d be using $110s/f as my reality check tool.
You, of course, are welcome to use any figure you choose.
It seems odd to me that construction costs in Costa Rica would be near to what the cost is in the Miami Florida area where I live now.
A residence (above average quality tract home)one story, CBS construction about 1600 sq ft is in the $110 to $132 per square foot range in Miami. I am not doubting what I am reading here about CR costs. I am just curious as to why there would NOT be lower costs in Costa Rica given the much cheaper labor.
Others have posted here that they spent recently between $65 and $85 per square foot and I believe Scott posted the construction costs for his cabin which seem to be within that range.
We have experience with building a 1600sf house in Grecia. The house we find has cheaper labor, although the cost of materials is higher here on many things than in the US, and this offsets the cheaper labor.
We are just completing are first house, which includes all the the US upgades, including the driveway, permits, design,septic system, hot water, wood ceiling in the salon, upgraded tile, large bodegas, granite counters, security system,metal roof with insulation,and many other upgrades.
We have watched our costs very closely, and with a good engineer and a great builder we have had no problems and our cost is $70/sf, I have kept very good records of my cost, as I am going to build another house starting in December.
I am an engineer also, so tracking cost is very important to me.
Joe/GeeGee
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