[quote=bearishgurl][quote=AN] . . . I don’t buy for one bit that it cost 2-5 times to build a custom homes vs a tract home. The cost of permit can’t possibly be that expensive.[/quote]
It’s not just the permit, AN. It’s the finishes and hardscape/landscape you will have to use in order to conform (and compete) with the immediate area. And the finishes you will use on the inside to conform with your individual taste and also area values.
Who in their right mind would go thru the “custom build” process in CA on an inferior lot? Owners could just get a “spec” builder to build one of their 5-6 “stock” plans on an inferior lot or a lot in a “working class” area. There is no need to go through this bureaucratic hell if the lot isn’t “worth it.”
I think Nor-LA-SD-GUY2 is correct in his assertion that it costs two to five times as much to build a (quality) custom home over a tract home. It all depends on WHERE it is being built.[/quote]
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.