So you’re at that stage of your life where you feel ready to become a homeowner. You have sorted out the timing, the approximate finances, and the prospective locality for your dream home.

You have seen all the houses listed for sale, but none of them resonate with you: your style, preferences, and comfort needs.

You may start to lose hope at this time and feel that you’re in some kind of trade-off: either you need to change the location, amp up your budget or wait another year for some other houses to be listed. That’s what your agent thinks would be best.

That’s when you come across the concept of custom homes. They sound like the right fit for your needs and your situation! But this is new territory for you. You don’t know how much they cost, would it be worth it? Or is it going to be a lot more hassle?

All these questions crowding your mind got you here today. You are indeed at the right place.

Here’s all you need to know about custom homes 2022 edition costing.

What is a custom home?

A custom home is one that you can design, plan and build from scratch. Some custom home builders and designers in the industry specialize in incorporating your home ideas into a realistic blueprint. Building a custom home is much like drawing on a blank page. You have complete control over how you want to design the space, what colors you want to use, and what features you want it to have.

However, a custom home’s cost and logistics vary greatly from buying a ready-to-move-in house. There are many levels of costing and then some more. Overall, assessing whether a custom home will be financially feasible for you is important.

Costs of building a custom home in McAllen

A number of different costs are included in a custom home building process. Following are the general costs applicable to any custom home:

Planning and paperwork costs

Before you actually start on the building process, you would need to get your house plan chalked out on paper. That is a blueprint. You would need professional services from a home design company or any custom home designer of your choice. This would cost you anywhere from $2000-$8000.

Hiring a contractor

Once your plan is ready, you need to hire a contractor who will refer to your home plan, factor in your specific requirements, and provide you with a bid for your dream home. You would need to pay the contractor’s fee, which can range from 15-20% of your entire building cost.

Permit costs

The next step is to get the necessary permits. Ideally, your contractor should help you out with this. A building permit will cost you $1,200-$2,000. You may also need additional HVAC, electric, and plumbing permits.

Professional service costs

This cost includes the fee of professionals involved in your home building project, apart from your contractor. You may need to hire an architect, interior designer, engineers, and more. The cumulative cost for these professional services may be around $700-$1000 per hour.

Land purchase cost

This would be a lump sum of your entire home-building budget. This varies greatly depending on the area of your choice and the size of the land. It can range from $3000-$150,000 based on our estimates.

Lot preparation costs

Once the land is purchased, it must be prepared before the construction starts. This includes connecting the lot with the regional sewer system for proper drainage, electric, and water connections. A lump-sum cost of $3500-$40,000 is expected in this step.

Material cost

You would need to buy all the bulk building materials before the construction begins. The cost for this really depends on the size of your house, the quality of materials you want to use, the design, and much more. This includes lumber, flooring, drywall, insulation, roofing, siding, and more. You can expect a cost of $100,000-$150,000 for this.

Labor costs

This includes the cost of workers who would be actually building the house. This varies from $10 per hour for a framer and $200 per hour for an electrician.

Inspection costs

You must factor in the regular home inspections during the building process. This is a legal mandate; thus, you would need to spend $5,000 in total for the inspections.

Interior decoration cost

This is another lump sum cost that would vary based on your taste and needs. From buying the furniture pieces to the appliances, everything needs to be taken care of. Consider a budget of $50,000-$125,000 for this step.

System installation costs

You would need to install all the appliances with the electric system, costing you $5,000-$15,000.

Fencing cost

Every house needs a fence, which can be around $1,200-$5,000 based on your lot size and the quality of materials used.

Additional costs tend to vary depending on the size of your home, location, decoration, and specific wants. In general, building a custom home can cost you an average of $284,158, with a higher cap of $450,345.

Custom vs spec homes: Does building a custom home cost more than buying a house?

According to the census of 2021, the average cost of a new home for a single-family was $358,000 and is expected to increase this year.

Thus, building a custom home can be feasible if you know how to manage your costs and get the best price for things.