Building Costs Per Square Foot in the District of Columbia (DC), USA

Newly Built House in Washington DC 3612 Massachussetts Avenue NW – 5 Bedrooms and 8 Baths with 2 Attached Garages on Gross Floor Area 6534 sqft – Built in 2022 – Price $4,995,000 (2)

As of 2024, building costs in the state of District of Columbia (DC) are 11% above the national average. The charts below show a comparison of costs between luxury, semi-luxury, best, good, average and minimum standard single-family houses. Costs are also given for manufactured housing in five quality classes.

2024 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Single Family Homes in the State of District of Columbia (DC), USA

• Class 1 – Luxury Homes – $463.56 to $674.96 per sqft
• Class 2 – Semi Luxury Homes – $281.74 to $410.20 per sqft
• Class 3 – Best Standard Homes – $181.89 to $262.75 per sqft
• Class 4 – Good Standard Homes – $132.92 to $193.60 per sqft
• Class 5 – Average Standard Homes – $107.88 to $156.94 per sqft
• Class 6 – Minimum Standard  Homes – $85.11 to $123.89 per sqft

District of Columbia Single Family Houses 2024 Building Costs

2024 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Manufactured Housing in the State of District of Columbia (DC), USA

Manufactured housing is composed of one or more prefabricated modular units which are delivered to the site and assembled on a RC foundation or slab.

• Best Quality Housing – $158.70 to $178.59 per sqft
• Good Quality Housing – $134.42 to $157.56 per sqft
• Average Quality Housing – $109.86 to $137.22 per sqft
• Low Average Quality Housing – $93.34 to $119.56 per sqft
• Lowest Quality Housing – $80.48 to $105.76 per sqft

District of Columbia Manufactured Housing 2024 Building Costs

2022 Residential Construction Market Analysis in the District of Columbia (DC), USA

Building costs are 12% above the national average in the District of Columbia, and equivalent to the state of Massachusetts. It’s the 3^rd most expensive state to build a house in the USA. Construction costs are 3% higher than California and New Jersey. Washington, DC (District of Columbia) has a population of 601 thousand inhabitants. Its area covers 176.76 square kilometers. It is located in the South region, South Atlantic division. What makes it stand out from the rest of the states is that Washington is the capital of the United States, which is why it houses the Capitol, the center of government, as well as the Senate and Congress. The White House, the FBI, the Library of Congress, and the Pentagon are also based in this city.

This means that many of the people who live here are diplomats or government workers. There are also people who seek to live here due to its high level of security, and tranquility, and simply because in DC you are “close to everything”.

Despite attracting so many people, this state has a complex real estate market. In part, it will not be affected by crises since the people who determine interest rates or estimated values ​​live in this same state, so they would not choose rules that affect them negatively. Still, median values ​​are some of the most expensive in the entire country, and a median home can be hard to find.

For this reason, we have prepared this article where we can show you what the values ​​are, the trends that can be expected in DC during the rest of the year or the near future, what types of construction there are, and the residential real estate projects that will come in the future.

District of Columbia (DC) Construction Outlook

The residential constructions in DC maintain a traditional style, with the colonial inheritance that is received from Great Britain and a little from France. Residential homes, including multi-family homes or small buildings, all share the same architectural style, with an aesthetic that makes you feel like you’re seeing the white house everywhere.

In the areas near the government buildings, there are some residential buildings, but they are not very tall and are usually inhabited by people who work for the government. Also, since there are so many embassies or consulates from other countries, there are diplomats from all over the world who inhabit these parts.

District of Columbia (DC) Housing Market Analysis and Forecast

Rising interest rates are expected to cool the housing market, but some markets may be immune, notably Washington, DC, where policymakers are raising rates. The housing market in the nation’s capital has shaken off previous economic slumps and remains buoyant even as rising interest rates and record prices and a low level of demand in the rest of the nation.

Sales in DC soared 11.3% from March to April, those figures defy national trends, where rising prices and mortgage rates caused US home sales to fall 2.4% from March to April.

The median sales price in DC hit $699,000 last month, up 5.9% from March 2022 and April 2021, according to the association. District prices did not rise as much as the national average, which rose an unprecedented 14.8% monthly. That’s because prices were already high in the region.

A major factor driving high prices is the low number of homes for sale. The DC metro area’s housing inventory has halved since the start of the pandemic, falling from 1.78 months of supply in April 2020 to 0.86 months last month. The same analysis found that the supply of housing improved from March to April, taking the number to 26%.

District of Columbia (DC) Average House Price (Median Home Price)

Always remember that when we say median home we mean a house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a garage, and a small garden. In the case of DC, the average current value is $712,046, and since it is a clipped region, there is not a very large variation. Compared to last year, there was an increase of 6%.

However, this does not mean that you cannot find cheaper properties. The average is misleading since in DC there are many properties that exceed one million dollars, and there are others that are less than $600,000, making the average end up being that.

Remember that you can find cheaper houses if you are willing to wait and see what the market has to offer. However, the values ​​in DC don’t vary that widely, so don’t expect them to go much lower than this. Another good option is to buy a property to restore it. Always keep in mind that the restoration may end up being more expensive than you think, so it is important to anticipate the difficulties that may occur.

Proposed Residential Building Projects in the District of Columbia (DC)

There are some residential projects in DC, but they are not as tall as the skyscrapers you would expect to see in a country’s capital. Most are a maximum of 20 floors (although they are usually 15 or less), and the apartments inside are usually quite spacious. They are designed to accommodate people with families, or with a partner. There are not usually many apartments with few rooms in these real estate projects, since they are not as profitable.

There are also some multi-family homes or condominiums under construction in areas farthest from the White House. Especially near the university or postgraduate student establishments, since they receive hundreds of university students from the United States and from all over the world, so they need many housing complexes to accommodate them.

Newly Built House in Washington DC 3301 Fessenden St NW Washington DC 20008 – 11 Bedrooms 17 Bathrooms with 8 Attached Garages on Gross Floor Area 17631 sqft – Built in 2019 – Price $11,950,000 (3)

2020 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Single Family Homes in the District of Columbia , USA

Building costs are 12% above the national average in the state of District of Columbia, and equivalent to the state of Massachusetts. It’s the 3^rd most expensive state to build a house in the USA. Construction costs are 3% higher than California and New Jersey. Because of its prestigious status (Located in the US Capitol, home of the US President and Congress), real estate and property prices in DC are going to be on the high-end. Detached single family residences will be costly in the multi-million dollar range, starting from $4 million and above, and as you should expect, the most affordable homes for the majority in DC are Multi-Family Dwelling Units (MDUs). These include Condos, Apartments, Townhouses and Multiplex Housing Units.

Class 1 – Luxury Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for luxury private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $386.28 per sqft to $592.14 per sqft, with the average being $455.86 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

Class 2 – Semi Luxury Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for semi-luxury private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $234.76 per sqft to $359.86 per sqft, with the average being $277.04 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

Class 3 – Best Standard Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for best-standard private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $151.76 per sqft to $230.51 per sqft, with the average being $177.68 per sqft. As the bar chart shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

Class 4 – Good Standard Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for good-standard private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $110.76 per sqft to $169.85 per sqft, with the average being $130.71 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

Class 5 – Average Standard Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for average-standard private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $89.90 per sqft to $137.68 per sqft, with the average being $106.01 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

Class 6 – Minimum Standard Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for minimum-standard private homes in District of Columbia  ranges from $70.91 per sqft to $108.68 per sqft, with the average being $83.65 per sqft. As the bar graph shows below, bigger homes with a large gross floor area have the lowest building costs per ft2, and smaller homes with a small gross floor area have the highest building costs per ft2. Medium-sized homes are somewhere in between. Generally, the building cost per square foot decreases as the size of the house gets bigger, and increases as the house gets smaller.

List of 1 Metropolitan Areas/Cities in District of Columbia  – Percentage Deviation of the City/Town Building Cost from the National Average ($X), in Descending Order:

There is one municipality in the District of Columbia . The bar chart below indicates that building costs vary in each metro city/town. The construction cost per square foot in each of these metropolitan cities varies from the state and national average by a certain percentage based on the location factor also known as the local modifier.

The percentage deviation of building costs from the National Average for each metropolitan area in District of Columbia  is shown below.

If $X is the Average National Building Cost in the USA, then it will cost the following to build a residential property in each metro city/town in District of Columbia :

District of Columbia  Average 12% (12% more than X)

• Washington 200-205 12%

The Metropolitan Area List above as well as the Bar Graphs below shows that building costs are 12% above the national average in the City of Washington.

Cheapest Places To Build in District of Columbia :

The cheapest places are 5% below the national average. There is no such place in DC.

Expensive Places To Build in District of Columbia :

If anything between 5% and 10% is considered expensive, then there are no such metropolitan areas in the District of Columbia.

More Expensive Places To Build in District of Columbia :

If anything between 10% and 15% is considered more expensive, then there is one such metropolitan area in the District of Columbia. Building costs in the City of Washington are 12% above the national average.

Very Expensive Places To Build in District of Columbia

The most expensive places to build a house in the USA are those which are 15% + above the national average. There are no such metropolitan areas in DC.

District of Columbia  State Average Costs:

Private home building costs in the District of Columbia (DC)  are 12% above the US average. Building cost rates in the metropolitan area of Washington are equivalent to the DC  state average. The District of Columbia  is number 48 on the national ascending costs scale and the 3^rd most expensive state to build a house in the USA, along with Washington.