When someone is thinking about building a house in or around Vancouver, B.C., there are a million issues that need to be resolved before the decision to move forward with a building project. Among them is deciding how much to spend building a dream home. This is especially true because there are multiple ways of computing the cost, as well as options to consider when building.
As a premier Baeumler-approved Vancouver custom home builder, one of the most common questions we get is this: how much does it cost per square foot to build a house in Vancouver, B.C.?
On average, the cost to custom build a house in Vancouver, B.C. ranges between a low average of $250 per square foot to a high of $500 per square foot. These figures should include all aspects of the home building process including the cost of materials, project management, home design, and tradespeople, when a qualified builder is hired for the project.
If you’re interested in a more accurate, nuanced answer to this question, I give a more detailed answer below. Before clicking away from this page, you should take 3 minutes to better educate yourself on the cost per square foot to build a home in Vancouver, B.C., and what goes into that figure. The truth is the cost per square foot is a complicated subject when you understand everything which needs to be considered. You’ll have a much better grasp of this subject by the time you finish this article.
Quality of the Build Must be Considered in Cost Per Square Foot
If you call me on the phone and ask how much it will cost to custom build a home for you, I can’t simply give you a rough estimate based on the square footage of the home you want built. There are simply too many factors to consider without first gathering more information, including:
- The location the home will be built in because of permitting costs, regulations, etc.Whether there is an existing home that needs to be torn down prior to building
- The size and condition of the lot, as well as any trees that might need to be cleared before building
- The size of the home you’ll want to build
- Quality of the build (i.e., do you want a basic home or one with lots of customizations, special rooms, or other amenities?)
Most people understand that quality costs more. What some don’t understand is each customization that someone could want has a cost. All of these must be factored into the investment needed to build a particular home (included all of the factors mentioned above).
What Larch Construction Considers Before Thinking About Cost Per Square Foot
When we talk to someone considering a custom home, we think in terms of how we would build a home if we were building it for ourselves. We would build our home to an exceedingly high quality standard, which is why we do the same for others when we custom build homes for other families.
Evaluating Cost Per Square Foot Construction Quotes
When evaluating quotes containing cost per square foot figures, it is important to know that not everyone computes this cost the same way. Some contractors include only livable space in their calculations; others include everything including non-livable space (garages, crawl spaces, etc). The reason this matters to you is that it can make it nearly impossible to compare quotes strictly on a cost-per-square-foot basis. If you’re not careful, you might reject a better project proposal simply because a different method of calculating cost per square foot is used.
Apples-to-Apples Comparisons Are Hard
If everyone can’t get on the same page about the way cost per square foot should be calculated, imagine how tough it can be comparing the build quality of proposed new construction quotes. If a contractor gives you a quote and they use low-quality materials, tradespeople, or processes, you could wind up with a home that quickly begins falling apart. This means that you will have essentially thrown your money away on a home that will not last or stand the test of time.
Yes, you can look for clues about the quality a builder might include in their Vancouver, B.C. home quote, simply by looking at the specific materials to be used in the construction of your new home. However, there really isn’t anything simple about doing this when you consider this: there are literally thousands upon thousands of individual items that go into the typical custom-built home. Unless you have a year or two to carefully look at everything, there’s no way you can truly do an apples-to-apples comparison.
What We Recommend Instead
The simplest method of calculating how much it should cost to custom-build your Vancouver home is this: choose a contractor who will tirelessly work with you to determine an honest custom home budget, based on all the factors that are important to you.
When you do this, you’ll get the exact home you want, with the added benefit of knowing precisely how much per square foot it should cost to build it.
As you can see, there are many layers to building a stunning, architecturally sound home you can be proud to call your own. Keeping in mind that Larch Construction builds only homes of the highest quality, the cost per square foot of homes we build generally falls between $250-$500 per square foot. When we sit down with you to determine your construction budget, we will ask many questions and create a custom budget – one that we will follow as a financial blueprint for the home you will call yours.
A Final Thought
The thoughts above are just a few of the details that go into planning custom Vancouver homes that are built to last. There are many pieces of the custom home building puzzle – budgeting, design, planning, building, and many others – that can help you make your Vancouver custom home a reality for you and your family.
When you’re ready to begin a conversation about how Larch Custom Home Construction can be a valuable resource in building your custom Vancouver home, you can reach out to us to get started.
