bostonbubble.com

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

How much do you all think that this new home in Arlington cost to build? Records show that the lot was purchased for $340k and the house is now $700k so did it cost $360k?

Contrast that with this home here in Austin. One less bedroom, 123sf more, no garage door (for design I think). Both are custom but this one seems to have more expensive details. It's listed at $432k with a lot cost of $155k so presumably a construction cost of $277k?

Is there simply a difference in new construction premium or is the construction cost in Boston really about 33% higher? Would I have been able to build the second home on the first lot for $617k?

admin · Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2013 9:25 pm GMT Post subject:

I don't think that Arlington one is actually new construction, even though they lead the listing off stating that it is. Check out the disclosure down much further:

admin · Posted: Wed Aug 14, 2013 4:52 pm GMT Post subject:

Here are some other gems that I just noticed from that listing:

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

Wow, that's sneaky! I saw the year built as 2013 but I think you're right. I've noticed that a few other times in MA too, in cases where the house looks old but they're claiming that it's new. So how much do you think this home would have cost brand new then? The discrepancy seems even larger then!

For comparison, I looked at homewyse. To install hardwood here (78759) on 200sf would cost $1593 at the low end. In Waltham, believe it or not, the price is only $1525. 100sf of Quartz is $6503 vs $6448. Those are both dominated by material costs so maybe not surprising. Painting 200sf is $535 vs $496. Next to trades. Re-wiring 10 connections in a home is $1193 vs $1087. So it seems that Waltham is actually cheaper!

Changing the zip code to 02481 in Wellesley changes the picture a bit. Re-wiring is $1307. Painting is $535. Quartz is $6503. So Wellesley is comparable to Austin.

Land in Boston is only a bit more expensive and even cheaper in some places. Why, then, are new homes so much more expensive there? Homewyse doesn't track cost for permits, delays, bad weather, taxes, etc. Are those things really accounting for the difference? A home that you'd expect to cost $700k based on these values seems to cost $1mil - $1.2mil and I'm totally at a loss at where the difference is coming from. Maybe john p could chime in Smile

Elrond · Joined: 27 Feb 2013 Posts: 48 Location: Boston, MA

Labor costs across the board here in Boston are quite a bit higher than in Austin, which is likely the primary cost in home building once you've got the lot.

balor123 · Joined: 08 Mar 2008 Posts: 1204

That's what I would have thought but the homewyse numbers don't recognize it. Are they wrong? Do you have any data to back up those labor costs? Not cost of living but cost of labor.

Guest · Posted: Thu Dec 19, 2013 4:01 am GMT Post subject:

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AlanMerle · Joined: 06 Jan 2016 Posts: 1

CraigRosenbaum · Joined: 13 Sep 2018 Posts: 1

Work costs no matter how you look at it here in Boston are significantly higher than in Austin, which is likely the essential cost in home building once you have the parcel.

Elrond · Joined: 27 Feb 2013 Posts: 48 Location: Boston, MA

I just put out a plumbing job to bid on a 4-unit property, 4 kitchens+baths. Walls are all open so accessibility is simple. Bids ranged from $24K to $32.5K. Two guys did the entire job, the rough anyway, in 2 days.

I paid $8k for a similar job in a single family property in Houston. Single family property with 2 kitchens and 6 baths which also took 2 days.

Labor costs here are through the roof, especially since we're technically required to hire a licensed plumber for ANY work, even if it were just to change out a faucet.