Cost Per SqFt to Build in Cape Coral

[Dane Peterson]

Hey BP,

Got a piece of Land I've had down in Cape Coral for about 5yrs now I picked up through Tax Lien Auction.  Sold the ones I had in Lehigh and Alva and this is the only one left, haven't had any action on it in close to a year on Zillow and now listed with an agent with ReMax. 

I'm considering putting a 1200-1500sqft block home on the lot and was curious what ballpark figure would be on the price per sqft.  

This is new territory to me so very interested in finding a builder in the Cape Coral area to speak with or even a fellow investor that would potentially want to partner up.

[Seth Nadreau]

Hi Dane,

Depending on what type of finishes you're looking for, I'd baseline this at roughly $100/sf. If you have blueprints and don't mind going through a GC rather than one of the thousands of local construction companies (that typically eat up 10-20% in profit), you might be able to do it for $90/square but that could be a stretch... although I've seen some people get built for $80 or so with a friend or family member with a GC license.

If you want better finishes and a local builder, I'd plan on $125/sf. Honestly, I wouldn't plan on high end finishes in any home under 2,000sf.

If you do build, consider a floorplan with a 4th bedroom or den. The resale market is typically better for these properties and the cost to build is the same.

Costs can vary depending on whether the lot is cleared or not, the need for fill dirt, public vs. private utilities, etc.