Building and construction costs vary from region to region and Southern New England is among one of the most expensive areas in the country in terms of land costs and building materials and labor costs. Project costs will also vary greatly from bid to bid due to the fact that every construction company has different values and ideas as to what they should charge for their product and services. Even if you submit detailed construction drawings, it is very hard to differentiate one estimate from the other because it is not apparent to you why there is such a large difference between the high and low bids. Variables such as availability, industry experience (or lack of it), quality of building materials, level of subcontractor capabilities, economies of scale, overhead costs and just plain robbery come into play and affect the total number.
So what do you base your decision on? Basically, this depends on the type of home you will be building. We already know that land costs, permits and engineering are fixed costs. Site costs such as land clearing, blasting, septic systems, wells, excavation, drainage and driveways are very substantial and variable costs. For example, depending on the difficulty and condition of a two acre approved building lot, site costs can range from $25,000 to over $100,000. The balance of the project costs are materials and labor to build the house and allowance costs to finish it. On the average, in northern Fairfield County, building and allowances costs range from $150 per square foot for good quality standard construction to over $350 per square foot for custom quality luxury construction.
