Hot Off the Presses

[alebrewer]

For those who do n/c, the following may be beneficial - at the very least as support for ratio allocation of costs.



Full document here:

https://www.nahb.org/-/media/NAHB/news-and-economics/docs/housing-economics-plus/special-studies/2025/special-study-cost-of-constructing-a-home-2024-january-2025.pdf?rev=00a42a1ce63b4a22a4dba9bda8af954b

 

[Artemis Fowl]

Very likely your assessor has a localized version of this.

 

[DWiley]

Back in the day, we had a steady client who did a lot of new construction financing for builders. The lender would have us do the initial appraisal and the construction draws. I created a spreadsheet that would take the budget and convert it to a construction draw sheet with the appropriate percentages for any specific budget. We got a lot of use out of that. It really cut down on the calls we would get from an unhappy builder (or lender) when the percentages on a generic draw form did not match up to a specific build.

 

[George Hatch]

All real estate is local. The fees/permits in Calif are 3x that shown in this breakdown and the 11% profit margin will be the minimum - if a developer or investor can't do at least 15% then they're probably not proceeding with the project.

Up until their most recent edition, the Calif Board of Equalization (assessments) includes a summary of their cost breakdown by percentage in their Publication 531 Residential Building Costs. This screengrab is from the 2024 edition (2025 doesn't have it for some reason). But it only includes the hard costs, not the indirects like indirects, contingencies and profit/loss margins. They put these all the way at the end of their publication.

AH 531, Residential Building Costs - Board of Equalization

www.boe.ca.gov

 

[alebrewer]

My guess is that most markets wouldn't reflect this exact set of ratios. If this is a mean - which I'm sure it is - half the country is below the ratios and half the country is above. Just throwing it out there for anyone who might find it useful.

 

[Zoe]

Back in the day, we had a steady client who did a lot of new construction financing for builders. The lender would have us do the initial appraisal and the construction draws. I created a spreadsheet that would take the budget and convert it to a construction draw sheet with the appropriate percentages for any specific budget. We got a lot of use out of that. It really cut down on the calls we would get from an unhappy builder (or lender) when the percentages on a generic draw form did not match up to a specific build.

Back in what day? LOL

 

[George Hatch]

You know DW ran a fee shop for 25 years, right?

 

[Zoe]

You know DW ran a fee shop for 25 years, right?

Very aware. What day does "back in the day" reference?

 

[Zoe]

Is the reference February 14th? I lost my best friend yesterday. She won't share valentines with me.

I admit I idolized her. Everybody that knows me knows it.

 

[George Hatch]

Very aware. What day does "back in the day" reference?

You didn't know?

If I recall correctly, DW had run his fee shop for years before being appointed to the ASB in 2000. ASB service is a part time gig at most, not a full time job or career position. He was still working that fee shop as his day job for a couple years after his terms ended in 2007. Besides that "boots on the ground" he's still been reading 1004s from fee appraisers almost every day since then. How much more of a subject matter expert does he need to be before people stop trying to imply he has somehow forgotten how to hack out a 1004?

DWs Swingline stapler probably knows more about appraising in general and the appraisal profession as a whole than some of the loudmouths here. Myself included.