How much does it cost to build a house in Georgia?

Reviewed by Adam Graham remodeling expert. Written by Fixr.com.

Georgia is a beautiful state with a sub-tropical climate and diverse population. It is also considered an affordable state to live and build a home in. Georgia has many popular home styles, from small bungalows to large, stately colonials. The state also has a diverse area to build a new home in, ranging from urban settings like Augusta to small towns like Brunswick.

The state average cost to build a new home in Georgia is $300,000 to $500,000, with most people spending around $400,000 to build a 2,000 sq.ft. colonial home using traditional building methods and a semi-custom design. This project’s low cost is $200,000 for a 1,500 sq.ft. Craftsman bungalow built with modular technology and a custom design. The high cost is $750,000 for a 2,000 sq.ft. contemporary-style custom home with many material upgrades.

Average Cost to Build a House in Georgia

Cost to Build a House in Georgia by Type

While most homes in Georgia are built using traditional building methods known as stick-building, you can also build your home using modular methods. Stick-building is the method for building a home on the foundation at the site where it stands. After the foundation is poured, the frame is built, and the house finished. This is the most common method of building, but it is also the most expensive and takes the longest.

Modular home building in Georgia can take two methods. You can purchase a readymade modular home, which is delivered to your house site in two or more pieces, and set on the foundation poured for that purpose before being finished. You can also have a home custom-built or built from plans that you can modify using the modular method. In the latter scenario, the home is built inside a factory in one or more pieces, using computer-aided technology in a controlled environment. This means there are fewer delays for weather and a faster and less expensive build. Once the parts are complete, they are delivered to the site and assembled.

Modular homes are available in the same sizes and styles as traditionally built homes, but they cost less per square foot. Both styles can have custom options that increase costs to as much as $300 a square foot for modular and $500 a square foot for traditional building. Below are the average costs per square foot to build a home in Georgia using both methods.

Cost per Square Foot to Build a House in Georgia

Homes in Georgia can be found in all sizes. The most common size for new homes in the state is around 2,000 sq.ft, but you can find much larger or smaller homes. The only size constraint is that you must have a single habitable room of at least 70 sq.ft., with one wall that is a minimum of 7’ wide. Beyond that, there are no size restrictions, meaning you can build to suit your needs and property.

The total cost range to build in Georgia ranges from $100 to $500 a square foot, with most people paying between $100 and $140 for modular homes and $150 and $250 for traditional stick-built homes. Below are the average costs to build a new home in Georgia based on the total size of the home using modular and traditional building methods.

Average Price to Build a House in Georgia by Number of Bedrooms

The average home in Georgia has 3 bedrooms with 2 bathrooms. However, you can build a home with a single bedroom or 4 or 5 bedrooms. The number of bedrooms a home has does not necessarily impact its total cost to build. However, the larger the number of bedrooms, the larger the home. Therefore, homes with more bedrooms cost more than those with fewer bedrooms, but there can be an overlap between costs and total square footage. You can build a smaller home with 2 or 3 bedrooms or a much larger home with only 1. You should find that the cost to build a home increases with each bedroom. Below are the average costs to build a new home in Georgia based on the number of bedrooms using both methods.

Cost to Build a Home in Georgia by Number of Stories

Most homes in Georgia have 1 or 2 stories, with a few popular plans having 3 stories. The number of stories a home has can have at least a small impact on the total cost to build. Single-story homes with the same square footage as a 2 or 3-story home are slightly more expensive. This is because the foundation and roof must be larger for a single-story home of the same interior square feet, and foundations and roofs are two of the most expensive parts of the home to build.

Most larger homes have 2 or 3-stories because they cost less to build than a single-story home of the same size. Most homes that are smaller in Georgia are single-story or one-and-one-half stories, such as the popular bungalow. Larger homes, including colonials, contemporary homes, and Cape Cods, tend to be 2 stories. Below are the average costs to build homes in Georgia with different numbers of stories using modular and traditional building costs.

Price to Build a House in Georgia by Style

There are many popular home styles in Georgia. The state is large and diverse in its population, and the various home styles mirror this diversity. Some popular styles include the Cape Cod, Craftsman bungalows, colonials, Greek Revivals, Mission Revivals, and ranches. You can also find Victorians, Tudors, some contemporary homes, Mediterranean-style homes, and some farmhouses. Tiny houses are also popular in some areas because they have few regulations.

Each home style has a range of common sizes, architectural details, and materials, making it more or less expensive. Below are some of Georgia’s most common home styles and their average costs to build based on their most common sizes.

Home Building Cost Breakdown (Georgia)

Many components comprise a new home build. This includes the prep work for the project and site to ready it for building, the foundation, framing, exterior and interior finishing, and installing major systems. Depending on the home style and materials, you can have a wide range of costs associated with the project for each area.

Traditional home building costs vary in each area in material and labor. This leads to a wide cost range, even for a home of a single size or style. Modular homes have a different cost breakdown because the homes are built using different methods. Below is the average cost breakdown for building a 2,000 sq.ft. home in Georgia, using traditional building methods.

Labor Cost to Build a House in Georgia

Building a home requires several professionals. Sometimes, you may use a design/build firm that handles the labor components in-house. In other cases, you may contract out separately to each labor professional needed for the job.

Labor costs for building professionals vary across the state. Labor costs are higher in urban areas than in small towns. For this reason, you may find higher costs in Savannah or Atlanta than in surrounding areas. Some professionals may also charge differently, depending on the materials, because some materials require more time or labor than others. These factors create a range of labor costs for building a home in Georgia. Below are the average labor costs per hour for each professional you may use for your project.

Barndominium Cost in Georgia

Barndominiums are becoming increasingly popular, but few builders in Georgia handle this project. The average cost of a barndominium is $70,000 to $220,000, depending on the size. Barndominiums are built from kits using mostly repurposed materials. In many ways, they resemble a pole barn in construction but mostly use materials that are leftover or taken from other projects and buildings. This makes the barndominium eco-friendly and low-cost to build, particularly when compared with similar homes. The typical barndominium uses metal siding and roofing, costing between $70 and $110 a square foot.

How Much Are Building Permits in Georgia?

You need a building permit to build a new home in Georgia. Your contractor usually assists in this process, which involves submitting plans for approval to your local municipality before work begins. The minimum fees for building permits in Georgia are around $80. However, costs per square foot average $0.06 per foot, plus additional costs for electrical, plumbing, and mechanical installations, which average around $50 per system. These costs include the time to review the plans for approval and an inspection after building is complete to ensure your new home meets state building codes and is suitable for living.

Building vs Buying a House in Georgia

The average costs to build and buy a home in Georgia are similar. The average cost to purchase a home in Georgia is $350,000 for a 2,000 sq.ft. home, while the average cost to build a home of the same size is $400,000. This includes the 14% increase in home prices over the last year and the increase of as much as 20% in building costs over the past year. However, the cost to build does not include the costs of purchasing land, making purchasing an existing home less expensive.

Building and buying a home have several advantages and disadvantages. Building allows you to customize the home to your needs. You can get exactly what you want in a home, regardless of what is on the market. New homes often come with warranties that are unavailable on older homes.

However, building a home takes time. Potential delays and contingencies can arise that can increase costs and the timeline. Purchasing an existing home is usually faster and has more known qualities.

Enhancement and Improvement Costs

Interior Designer

It is common when building a new home to hire an interior designer to help with the project. Interior designers can help your architect plan the interior layout. This makes the space better meet your needs and makes the most of the square footage. Interior designers can also help with the finish design of the interiors. The cost of an interior designer in Georgia is $100 to $225 an hour.

Additional Considerations and Costs

• Shipping container homes. In addition to barndominiums, shipping container homes are an affordable way to use existing materials to build a home. They have an average square foot cost of $70 to $110 a square foot in Georgia.
• Demo fees. If you are rebuilding an older home or there is a home on the land you want to build on, you have additional demolition fees. This can average $3,000 to $15,000, depending on the home size.
• Inspection. When you pull a permit for the construction, your home is subject to an inspection before you can move in.
• Contingencies. It is a good idea to have a contingency fund of roughly 20% for additional costs. This helps ensure problems or issues encountered do not delay your project.
• Material shortages. Due to supply issues and labor shortages, there are also material shortages at this time. This can cause delays with your project or increase the cost of some areas.
• Buy land. If you do not already own land, you need to purchase it before building. This has an average cost in Georgia of $4,550 per acre.