Construction: Realistic price per square foot (US dollars) ... opinions please

bull123

New member
Feb 23, 2012
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For good quality ... not Lions Gate quality =) ... any realistic estimates ... thanks
 

bull123

New member
Feb 23, 2012
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OK, let me re-phrase ... What is the difference between quoted price vs. actual price when the dust clears? Has anyone up here gone through the process (as of late) ... we are going to do a 5,000 square foot house on one level ... thanks guys
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
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OK, let me re-phrase ... What is the difference between quoted price vs. actual price when the dust clears? Has anyone up here gone through the process (as of late) ... we are going to do a 5,000 square foot house on one level ... thanks guys

PM Chip, he has his own business building houses.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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We built in 2008, finished in Dec 2008. Cost was just over $100 /foot... say $110 to be safe

You could be higher or lower based on components. and how much you buy on sale and where you buy it.
We had a lot of local stone - coralina, pizarro(sp?) and so on.

That price had a pool included..

Our quote was firm and came in on budget but we are in Cabrera - a bit more out of the way than Sosua/Cabarete.

Our builder's reputation is a good one - that's hard to find in RD.
Be sure and get references
 

kampinge

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Jan 18, 2012
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Never pay in advance, I done it and lost 4.000.000 Peso. Since 6 years ago in the court and No decision. Don't believe in contract, they are not worth the price of the paper. As a gringo you loose always.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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Trying to find a builder who can front the construction costs and bill you later is tough to find here sometimes.

I've never heard of one.... but maybe they exist..... dunno

Every transaction I do, they ask for the deposit to buy piedra, cemento, whatever it calls for.
They can front the labor, not the materials
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
For those who want to pay as you go during the construction use the "construction administration" type of contract where no money is deposited but rather invoices are presented to the owner for costs, materials and labor and are paid in a timley manner.

For example, I am doing a project for a fellow DR1'er here in Santiago and I believe the costs for the construction of his 250 sm home will be around US43 per square foot for Class A construction, 10' ceilings with all windows and ironwork. This does not include the price of the land. I can't promise I can do another one this cheap because I made so little money but it wouldn't be too far off the mark.
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Wouldn't there be a lot of variables to consider before being able to give an average per sq ft/meter price; like the amount of arches, support walls, window sizes, cathedral celining, room sizes.......etc. 5000 ft on one floor is a big house.
 

tee

Bronze
Sep 14, 2007
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Would be good if there was a sticky with recommended construction companies plus contact details. Obviously prices vary depending on quality of construction and location. I for one would be interested in seeing a list of constructors for the North coast and I am sure that everyone would like to see some recomendations for their areas...a kind of angieslist would be really good. Of course, this should be for all services, not just construction.
 

Chip

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Jul 25, 2007
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Wouldn't there be a lot of variables to consider before being able to give an average per sq ft/meter price; like the amount of arches, support walls, window sizes, cathedral celining, room sizes.......etc. 5000 ft on one floor is a big house.

It's just a ballpark figure any way but it can get one close to 10-20% of the cost generally speaking.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
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For what its worth and with respect Chip..... I doubt that the $43/foot casa and the $100/foot are built for the same people.

Land cost extra.

Gary, to get a true feel for costs, many questions need to be asked.
Cement floors can be very attractive, and can be colored.... thats one approach.
Tile floors are for a different look and appeal to others.

Correct me Chip -- my guess is you could range from $50 to $125 and have a pretty nice result.

North of those numbers is getting pretty fancy -- south will be pretty elementary/basic

Amateur WW
 

bayaguanaman

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Oct 22, 2009
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For what its worth and with respect Chip..... I doubt that the $43/foot casa and the $100/foot are built for the same people.

Land cost extra.

Gary, to get a true feel for costs, many questions need to be asked.
Cement floors can be very attractive, and can be colored.... thats one approach.
Tile floors are for a different look and appeal to others.

Correct me Chip -- my guess is you could range from $50 to $125 and have a pretty nice result.

North of those numbers is getting pretty fancy -- south will be pretty elementary/basic

Amateur WW

Bang on the dollar, I did mine (3000 sq ft) and the turn out cost was circa 80 USD with full a/c, and power back up. I later did a 65,000 gln pool with water feature and auto leveler and had a fair bit of change back from 1.8m RD$. Hope this rough guide helps.
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
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I have reported that a square meter (about 10 ft2) is costing around RD$35,000-38,000 these days. I got this information from an engineer that builds a lot, so it is fairly accurate. So this jibes with what WW and others...

HB
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
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Santiago
For what its worth and with respect Chip..... I doubt that the $43/foot casa and the $100/foot are built for the same people.

Land cost extra.

Gary, to get a true feel for costs, many questions need to be asked.
Cement floors can be very attractive, and can be colored.... thats one approach.
Tile floors are for a different look and appeal to others.

Correct me Chip -- my guess is you could range from $50 to $125 and have a pretty nice result.

North of those numbers is getting pretty fancy -- south will be pretty elementary/basic

Amateur WW

Honestly WW the construction we did was worth a lot more and I would say in the US70 range for here in Santiago. Including the prices of the property for the house I mentioned the cost would be around US52 a foot.

What people don't realize is there is a lot of markup/admin. cost., especially for nicer houses and even more especially for the tourist areas. From numbers I've seen on the North Coast the numbers are above 50(to a lot more) percent of the cost of the materials and labor and subcontracted work(which has profit rolled in). The builder/engineer is charging this percentage to administrate the construction and includes his "profit".

In other words it's not necessarily a given that a house that was built at US100 a foot is any better quality construction than what we are doing but what is certain is that the constructor has probably a nice new vehicle because of it. :)
 

waytogo

Moderator - North Coast Forum
Apr 3, 2009
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Santiago DR
I have been looking for a lot in a good area in Santiago. Large enough for a 2000 sq ft. home with a large back area.
Anyone know of any for sale......
Looked on the sales area on dr1 with not much luck.

B in Santiago
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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I have been looking for a lot in a good area in Santiago. Large enough for a 2000 sq ft. home with a large back area.
Anyone know of any for sale......
Looked on the sales area on dr1 with not much luck.

B in Santiago
From what I can tell lots are smallish in urban DR. You may need to buy two or three adjacent lots...