How Much Does It Cost to Build a Home in North Carolina?
Is custom homebuilding within your budget? The answer may surprise you.
In the last few months, the goal of purchasing real estate in North Carolina — especially in the highly-coveted Triangle area — has become more and more difficult to achieve. Bidding wars are fierce at every price point, and the area only continues to see more competition as news of Apple’s upcoming Triangle office spreads.
As a result, many people are investigating the option of homebuying. But how much does it cost, and what factors are contributing to those costs? We consulted with real estate experts from Onwire Realty to find out.
Expected Cost
Debbie Rebosa, Sr. Real Estate Advisor at Onwire, estimates, “for a newly built 2,000 square foot home, base prices can start in the lower $400 thousands and go up from there depending on several home factors or upgrades.” While this cost is higher than average homes in many U.S. areas, it’s quite comparable to the median listing home price in Raleigh, which sits at about $380 thousand.
Fawn Wang adds, “the cost of building has gone up in the last year.” Here’s why.
Contributing Factors
Claire Connelly of Onwire points to rising costs as the outcome of “supply and staffing shortages as a direct result from the pandemic.” Materials like lumber were in very short supply throughout much of 2021. “However,” she adds, “we have seen some recent statistics that the cost of wood is coming back down in price.”
But it’s not time to celebrate quite yet. “Many builders bulk order their lumber, so we may not see the effects of this change right away. Other materials, especially windows, are in high demand due to manufacturing and supply chain issues. But again, those builders who purchased bulk materials are still able to produce new construction homes, but are doing so in small and staggered phases.”
These supply chain and staffing issues deserve the bulk of the blame for the slightly elevated cost of building a home in North Carolina right now. However, that doesn’t mean building is a bad call. Teresa Coker, Director of Marketing and Sales for Onwire, points out, “new construction homes also tend to have less maintenance, which is appealing for all types of buyers. They also allow for upgrades like up-to-date technology and smart home features.”
There’s also simply more availability compared to existing homes in North Carolina. “While the supply of existing homes for sale are at all time lows, new construction is booming,” says Coker. “Now is a good time to build a house while the momentum for new construction is there. A new construction home may mean you may have to pay more now, but you will ultimately save money in the long run on repairs and renovations.”
In addition, building means skipping out on stressful and costly bidding wars. “Buying a home in today’s hot seller’s market will likely result in bidding wars and possibly having to settle at the high end of your budget and maybe not getting everything you want,” says Coker. “When you build a home, you determine your budget and have control of what finishes best suit your needs. The benefit of using Atmos is that they can guide you through every homebuilding decision — with transparent pricing and build times.”
Ready to take control of your new home? Build with Atmos! Get started today.
