[quote=AN]Why don’t you try to compare apple to apple. EVERYTHING that you can put inside a custom home, you can put in a tract home. EVERYTHING you can do to the exterior of a custom home, you can you to a tract home. What make you think tract home only use the cheap stuff? You can’t say it cost 2-5 time more to build a custom home vs a tract home, then go on and list the finishes and upgrades that make it more expensive. By that same logic, a tract home that use higher interior/exterior finishes will cost 2-5 more than a custom home. In essence, what you’re saying is, a house that have higher end materials will cost more to build. That has nothing to do with custom vs tract but higher end taste vs lower end taste.[/quote]
AN, you also need to factor in the cost of a possible architect, design work and engineering work. Once a spec builder or developer has adopted a particular floor plan for use and built ONE of a model, the other homes of the same plan can be built identical or facing the opposite direction and/or tweaked for different lots/elevations. MANY custom homes and complete remodels were designed by architects as a one-of-a-kind property. These “design & engineering” costs can add about $25K to $200K more to the cost of construction. High-end construction details such as cantilevers and high quality wood vaulted ceilings cost an extra $75K and up. No developer would use this level of finishes in a tract.
I saw the photos of Sky Ranch Crestview and they are very handsome inside. It seems the developer tried to replicate high-end custom finishes and did a very good job, especially for the price. But these finishes are actually of a lower-quality wood, the drywall finishes are sprayed on and some design elements are fake. Still, they “look” good.
Why don’t you call a drywaller and ask him how much it costs to do a hand-troweled “mission texture” on drywall or plaster walls in a 2500 sf house. Then ask him how much “mud” it will take to do this. Then you will know why developers take the “easy way out.” :=]
AN, a prudent owner wouldn’t install EVERYTHING they actually wanted in their home unless their lot, block and tract (if applicable) was WORTH it. If they AREN’T “worth it,” an owner would be wasting their money on all these “goodies.”
