What You Need To Know
Building a custom home or making customizations to your own home will be more costly than buying an existing "used" home, a prefabricated home or even a builder's spec house - BUT none of the aforementioned will give you and your family exactly what you want for your future home. Beyond that, the year 2023 brings other expense challenges to the table due to shortages of building supplies, sub-contractors and high-priced land/lots. Lastly, the interest rates for financing a home, whether a resale or new construction are not exactly the best right now either - although they ARE improving! While the Costs For A Custom Home are currently running higher that usual, there are still so many benefits to having a custom home built or making customizations to your own home. Be prepared to be patient and possibly pay a little more than you might have expected to pay a few years ago.
Custom home benefits and costs may both be high, but long term, the spend could very well the perfect choice! If you are in an Age-In-Place situation, the cost of assisted living or other structured elder communities could certainly out-weigh what you might spend to have your own home that works for your changing needs.
Why Customize?
You want your next home to be a perfect fit, and if you’re not seeing existing houses on the market meet your list, building a home or customizing your current one may be your best option.
You may be able to expect the housing market to be a bit more favorable to homebuyers in 2023, but the cost to build a new home won’t necessarily feel more affordable. Real Estate Witch, a partner of real estate education platform Clever, estimates the median price to build a very basic house from scratch in 2023 is $446,000, not including the price of land. However, a number of factors may make building a house or buying a new construction home more expensive – or harder to find. Below is more on what housing and development experts are predicting will impact home construction in 2023.
What Are the Benefits of Age in Place renovations?
Unlike some other options, staying at home can provide you with a sense of independence and autonomy. Ultimately, the goal of age in place design is to maintain or improve your quality of life. Remaining in a familiar setting near friends and neighbors positively impacts your health and happiness. Although adapting your home may be a costly undertaking, in many cases, the cost is lower than the costs associated with assisted living communities, where you would essentially be living on their terms instead of your own.
Who Should Consider Age in Place?
It is essential to create a comprehensive plan that addresses potential issues that might occur if you stay in your existing home. If you satisfy the following criteria, you might be a good candidate for age in place adaptations to your home:
Your home is accessible or can be made accessible
You have a strong support system of friends, family, and doctors
You’re a proactive person who likes making your own decisions
You have access to transportation, whether private or public
You’re in relatively good health and are comfortable living on your own
You have an experienced, trustworthy source (like Longevity Home Solutions) to consult with you and guide you through the process
Costs For A Custom Home
Custom homes are often one-of-a-kind upscale homes that feature many unique architectural details. By building a custom home, you can tailor-fit your house’s features to suit any need, whether it’s additional bedrooms, a basement, specialty rooms, or a nice porch and garage. Building a custom home means you have total control over the design of your home. You’ll have the freedom to incorporate architectural styles you love, add features that fit your lifestyle—like an art studio or gourmet kitchen—or incorporate the latest trends and technology. Longevity Home Solutions also builds homes customized with Age-In-Place in mind so the home is adaptable to long term physical challenges that may occur.
Today, the average costs for building a custom home range between $200-500 per square foot, which will make up about 60% of the whole process cost. For top-notch finishes throughout, there will most likely be added costs, depending on labor and types of materials utilized. Meanwhile, other costs that need to be added to your budget are site preparation, utility lines, government fees and mandates, and finance costs—which can reach around 40% of your total costs for building a custom home and are outside of the 'per square footage' cost from your builder. HOWEVER, if you are remodeling a home that you already live in, you won't have any of the latter, and your building costs should be substantially lower.
Adaptability seems to be the key to dealing with life's challenges. Many people today face changes in their health, lifestyle and family and find it necessary to adapt their home to those changes. Aging parents, working from home, children, a changed in someone's health can cause a person to wonder how they will function in their existing home. Longevity Home Solutions will help you find ways to adapt to changes your home requires from you or your family members. Contact us today!