Building Estimations

Estimating the cost of building a new home helps plan for the features you want, while staying within your basic budget. Home-building calculations exclude the property price, planters, driveway, sidewalks and landscaping around the property.

The estimate also excludes pre-construction work such as lot grading and connecting utilities. Building costs vary with the individual contractor mark-up, geographic location and area labor costs. Costs also fluctuate with material shortages, such as wood for framing trusses.

The features you select determine your final building costs, but looking at the basic blueprint details offers a general per-square-foot estimate.