Building costs are all over the map. You will hear many conflicting stories about construction prices and generally it boils down to what type of house you want and with what luxuries. A common way to lower to cost is the builder will lower your allowances for different areas such as floors, cabinets, carpet, etc. Then if you decide you don't like the cheap carpet in the budget it will cost you more. So make sure if you receive different quotes from different builders that you compare the allowances they are offering in the price.
We didn't shop the plans for our house around a lot so we may of overpaid a little. But the contractor we picked had a stellar reputation so we went with the first bid. We didn't mind spending money now because this is our retirement home and we have no plans of moving again. Our finished costs were $128 a square foot for a 2,250 3 bedroom 2 bath ranch home. This included:
Exterior brick and stone
Handmade custom cabinets inside
Walk in tiled master shower and a tub my wife had to have that cost $3,000 lol.
Granite counters in the kitchen, both baths, laundry room sink,
Huge front and back porches, both covered by the roof
$5K for the woodstove and hearth
Solid 36 inch wide oak doors throughout the house.
Built in oven and matching microwave and a top of the line 6 burner gas cook top.
8x8 walk in pantry with wall to wall adjustable shelving on three walls.
Storm doors with removeable screens that are replaced with glass in the cooler months.
Oversized 2 car garage attached to the house, both doors are 10 feet wide and garage is 30 feet deep and 30 feet wide. Ceiling mounted gas heater in the garage as well.
Recessed LED lighting throughout the kitchen and family room areas.
Heat pump furnace but once the temp drops down to about 40F it switches over and uses natural gas for fuel.
Bringing in water, gas, and electric lines 550 feet from the main road. All were buried.
The area we live in property sales seem slow. I have seen the same houses for sale a year later in the rural areas. But then again a house down the road from us was sold in a couple of weeks. It seems like the more land attached to the house the longer it takes to sell. The retirees are a steady flow in. I don't have a clue as to how fast stuff sells inside the town limits.
We built our house in the middle of 42 acres complete with a small lake. I guess when we die our son will have a difficult time selling the place:) But maybe by then he will recognize how nice privacy and being able to shoot a gun off your back porch and deer and turkey hunt within a 100 yard walk is. Plus extra points for being able to a leak anywhere you want