Houston Custom Home Prices by the Numbers
Going by square footage, custom homes in Houston begin around $130 for “builder grade” materials, but for high-quality builds expect to pay from $150 up to $300+ per square foot.
| Home Size (square feet) |
Materials Cost (per square foot) |
Build Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 2,000 | $130 | $260,000 |
| $175 | $350,000 | |
| $250 | $500,000 | |
| $300 | $600,000 | |
| 2,500 | $130 | $352,000 |
| $175 | $437,500 | |
| $250 | $625,000 | |
| $300 | $750,000 | |
| 3,000 | $130 | $390,000 |
| $175 | $525,000 | |
| $250 | $750,000 | |
| $300 | $900,000 |
Custom Home Cost Calculator
Work out the cost of your custom home with the calculator below.
Input the size of the home (in square feet) and the cost of materials (per square foot) to calculate the build cost.
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Key Factors that Affect Houston Custom Home Prices
- Lot: If you’ve already bought your lot, you don’t need to be told that this often-overlooked aspect of custom home building adds a substantial chunk to your all-in costs. Inside the Loop, the average .25-acre plot commands several hundred thousand dollars minimum, with land prices reaching into the millions in River Oaks, The Heights, West U, and other highly sought areas. Searching outside the Loop is no guarantee of cheap land either, but it’s likely to help.
- Flood zone status: If your lot is in a flood zone, the expense of building up your home, creating adequate drainage, and other flood mitigating factors will add approximately 20% to your construction costs.
- Home size: Pretty simple, bigger means more expensive, not just width but height–adding a second story also adds to costs. Even an unusually shaped home with lots of corners affects prices.
- Permits, surveys, and other preliminary items: This includes any necessary demolition of the existing property, soils testing, lot preparation such as clearing trees, architectural fees, and permits.
- Labor: The sweat equity to build your home represents roughly half the bill, and it can vary as much as 10% based on your chosen builder. Custom-built homes are often more complex to build than modular homes and builders equipped to handle the work are able to command a higher price. Lumber prices: This is particularly relevant as of Summer 2021, as the price of lumber has tripled during the coronavirus pandemic. This has added an average of more than $35,000 to the price of American homes. All that framing lumber has a direct impact on your custom home costs.
- Finishes: Decking out your interior can rack up costs quickly. This includes:
- the type of windows you choose (e.g. low-cost vinyl vs. high-end wood)
- entry-level vs. premium garage doors
- basic plumbing fixtures vs. luxury (e.g.rain shower heads, tankless water heater)
- the type of flooring (e.g. vinyl or laminate vs. hardwood or luxury vinyl planks)
- countertop materials (basic granite vs. marble or bahia granite)