Home construction prices in Canada...what the heck is going on?

[Mike476]

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Funny you should mention concrete, just had an estimate for a 30x40 building I'm looking at putting up once I finish milling the last of the lumber I need to do it. Wasn't planning on using the ARXX but was curious of the costs compared against renting forms. Any building above 600 sq/ft require footings in my county.

 

[TCJatko]

Housing bubble in Canada. When it bursts it won't be pretty (see US economy).

 

[tcartwri]

Housing bubble in Canada. When it bursts it won't be pretty (see US economy).

It's only news in Toronto and Vancouver, which have historically superheated housing markets. They go through these cycles all the time, and we do not have the same mortgage rules that you folks have. It's not the same issue at all.

 

[MotorSeven]

Down this way a very basic, and I mean very basic house starts at $150.00-$175.00 per sq ft. This does not include lot, septic, well, landscaping etc.
I had a rough quote for an addition I was planning about 10 years back. The 20'x18'(720 sq ft) two stories was estimated at $120k.

Not sure where copper prices stand on the world market but that might be driving the price up. Both trades use it.

And that sounds reasonable for Canada......her quote turn key is $600 a square foot. On top of that her contractor refuses to sign a contract:thumbdown:.

Edit....sorry, it's $300 a sq ft, x 2 because of the basement......2,000 sq ft = $600K

 

[Mousefield]

Down this way a very basic, and I mean very basic house starts at $150.00-$175.00 per sq ft. This does not include lot, septic, well, landscaping etc.
I had a rough quote for an addition I was planning about 10 years back. The 20'x18'(720 sq ft) two stories was estimated at $120k.

Not sure where copper prices stand on the world market but that might be driving the price up. Both trades use it.

On the other side of the continent it is much the same. A basic spec house would be around $175.00 per sq ft and a bit of a custom $200.00 plus $ and more plus $ a sq ft. We live in a very expensive part of the world, trades people earn pretty big bucks and companies sure pad on top of the employees wages. Plumbers, electricians, roofers and it seems all the trades make very good wages, employers double or more the $30 - $40 per hour they get. As previously mentioned we pay LOTS for all the fees, permits, inspections and taxes.
While a bit off topic if you take your car to a dealership the shop rate is $110.00 per hour.

 

[v8only]

im from Winnipeg, Manitoba and there in that area there are only a few contractors and material is also alot more expensive out that way than winnipeg. That area is also a rich area because of the lake and national park near by so prices are inflated greatly.

A basic bare bones home in Winnipeg is $200.00 a square foot no airconditioning, or finished basement without the lot.

 

[Ductape]

Where is anyone finding a plumber or electrician for $50 / hr ???

 

[EddieWalker]

I built my house for $30 a square foot. That is what it cost for just materials and I did all the labor.

I've built spec houses with all brick exteriors in on city lots with permits for under $60 a sq foot and sold them for low to mid $70 a square foot. We don't have basements, and we go off of the Southern Building Code, which is pretty lax.

In CA, where I'm from, houses where costing close to $300 a foot to build. Labor was crazy, but so where the permits and what was required by code for earthquakes. What is sad is that the house might have been stronger then they are here in Texas, they are uglier with less detail to them. My $60 a foot houses that I built here are twice as nice as anything that I was involved with in CA that cost $300 a foot to build!!!!

The US National Home Buildiers Association figures that one third of the cost to build a house is materials. The rest is labor and fees. The design of the house can also have a huge impact on cost. Every time you vary from a basic rectangle, the cost goes up. Same square footage, but more angles, means more money.

Eddie

 

[IndyIan]

$26K for "wiring" must include an underground hook up and ground mount transformer? We went a 1/4 mile underground and our own transformer and had the house wired with a generator hookup and I don't think it was even $20k.
Our 130' well and septic was maybe $9k total? We did all the plumbing as its pretty simple with PEX supply and ABS waste, I seem to recall our plumbing contact saying it would be $5-6k to do our 1600 sqft house.
That was 10 years ago but new trucks are also $10K cheaper now than then, and wages are about the same really.
We could have spent alot more as some quotes were way up there! We had no move in deadline or building mortgage BS so there was no leverage there that guys could use on us.
She needs to find an honest local sub-contractor and use his contacts for trades. The stupid high bids will go away after that...

 

[Mike476]

The other advantage to not having to deal with the bank, and letting the contractors know that, is that you afford them some flexibility in their schedule. Subbing it yourself is not easy, and even after extensive research into local tradesmen, typical rates etc there are still things I could have done to save money. Building centers / plumbing and electrical outlets offering contractor rates for materials (and there are different contractor rates), number of apprentices on the job etc.

If you want to keep away from it and have turn key, as IndyIan stated, get a good sub. If you decide to sub it yourself, take the time and do your homework, plan to spend A LOT of time on site.

Eddie's point is also one to keep in mind, particularly in roof lines. I ended up changing our original plans to accommodate just a single dormer over a 2 story bay, initial had 2 additional in the front that we took out of the design because it was only for show and was cost prohibitive for something that wasn't functional.