How much does it cost to build a house? Is it worth it?

[AerisWind]

I just got a friend who purchased a small and old house on the east side, the lot size is about 9000sqft. He is planning to tear down the house and build a bigger house, so does anyone has any experience in doing this? Normally what are the processes involved and how much does it costs? Since I am currently consider moving to a bigger place myself (due to a newborn baby), so I wondering is it a good solution.

Thanks
Aeris

[deejayoh]

Mimimum $150/sq ft if your brother is a contractor and he loves you very much and owes you a huge favor. But think more likely $200-250 per square plus a year in permitting, and another in teardown/construction.

There are plenty of places out there that were built on spec by builders in the last two years that are going as short sales. I'd look for one of those vs. a custom home. It's almost never cheaper to build, and certainly not now.

[Jonness]

deejayoh is correct about the cost of custom designed and built homes. However, you can get a home on a lot for much less if you get the site development work done yourself and use one of the on your lot builders' stock home plans. Check out:

http://www.stanbrooke.com/
http://www.foxcustomhomes.com/
http://truebuilthome.com/ (the Corey Ridge was designed for me).
http://www.realityhomesinc.com/
http://www.hilinehomes.com/
http://www.tnthomesinc.com (These guys will build you pretty much any home plan you want for a very good price. Check out http://www.nhdhomeplans.com/ for the design you want. To control costs, pick a design with fewer corners.)

Get references and tour some finished homes prior to committing to a particular company. Some of these companies have poor reputations. Others do a pretty good job.