Building a home is part of the American dream, but many people think it’s just a pipe dream. Although the cost to build a custom home is prohibitively expensive in some states, in Indiana and Michigan it is surprisingly affordable. This means that your dream home doesn’t have to be a dream.
The Price Varies
Keep in mind that even though it costs less to build in Indiana than, say, California, not every location within the state costs the same. The price is going to vary depending on the city where you are building your modular home. The cost of living (and building) depends on whether you are city or rural and whether you are near a large industrial area. Developed land is always more expensive than undeveloped land. So that you have a frame of reference, a developed lot around Goshen, Indiana is currently selling for about $19,000.
Cost Per Square Foot
Once you have your land, you also need to allow for the actual building costs and contractor costs. Giving ballpark costs per square foot is not hard, but there are a lot of factors that will drastically change the overall price. For instance, the style of home (Ranch vs 2-Story vs Cape Cod), the kinds of interior/exterior finishes, the foundation type you choose (basement vs crawl), the type of utility hookups (private well/septic vs city hookups) you have, how much lot preparation (tree clearing & grading) you need, the type of soil at your property (sand vs clay), local permit costs, and whether or not you decide to build a garage and/or porch with your home. These factors can all drastically change your overall cost.
That said, a rough estimate on a mid-sized modular home built to standard specs can range from $90 – $125 per square foot. With this information, you can look at the size of the modular home you’re planning to build and estimate the cost. For example, if you plan to build a 1,600 sq foot modular home, you can expect to pay somewhere between $145,000 to $200,000.
Bigger May Not Be More Expensive
If you are building a small house (1,100 SF or less) your cost per square foot can be much higher. Why? Well, keep this in mind: the largest cost differences between a 2,500 SF house and a 900 SF house are the cost of the prefabricated home itself and the foundation. No matter the size of your home the well, septic system, electric hookups, plumbing hookups, garage, porch, and permit costs are generally the same (now of course if your home has one bathroom instead of two the plumbing hookups will cost less, but it’s not a huge difference like the home or foundation cost).
If you are building a small home it’s best to call us and talk it over for a more accurate price, but for estimating purposes, a very small house can range from $110 – $170 per square foot. For example, if you plan to build a 900 sq foot modular home, you can expect to pay somewhere between $100,000 to $153,000.
Of course, all of this depends on your options and upgrades, but for budgeting purposes, it can help you narrow down floor plans that will fit into your budget.
Average Cost of Modular Homes
There are many floor plans available that will allow you to build a modular home in Indiana for under $150K. The final cost is dependent on the site and the upgrades you add to your custom home. However, if you want to get the best price, building modular is the key. Typically, you will save 15%-20% using a modular build rather than building the same floor plan in the traditional way.
