Building Costs Per Square Foot in the State of New Jersey – Single Family Homes

Last Updated on April 8, 2024 by admin

(Completed in 2022) A newly-built 5 Bedroom House with 3 Bathrooms and 2 x Attached Garages, Gross Floor Area 2911 sqft – on 513 Vernon PI Bayville, NJ 08721, New Jersey – Price $695,900

As of 2024, building costs in the state of New Jersey are 10% 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 New Jersey, USA

• Class 1 – Luxury Homes – $457.48 to $668.88 per sqft
• Class 2 – Semi Luxury Homes – $278.05 to $406.51 per sqft
• Class 3 – Best Standard Homes – $179.52 to $260.38 per sqft
• Class 4 – Good Standard Homes – $131.17 to $191.85 per sqft
• Class 5 – Average Standard Homes – $106.47 to $155.53 per sqft
• Class 6 – Minimum Standard  Homes – $83.99 to $122.77 per sqft

New Jersey Single Family Houses 2024 Building Costs

2024 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Manufactured Housing in the State of New Jersey, 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 – $157.09 to $176.98 per sqft
• Good Quality Housing – $133.01 to $156.15 per sqft
• Average Quality Housing – $108.62 to $135.98 per sqft
• Low Average Quality Housing – $92.26 to $118.48 per sqft
• Lowest Quality Housing – $79.53 to $104.81 per sqft

New Jersey Manufactured Housing 2024 Building Costs

Residential Construction Market Analysis in the State of New Jersey, USA

Building costs are 9% above the national average in the state of New Jersey, and equivalent to the state of California. It is the 4^th most expensive state to build a house in the USA. One of the pillars of the American dream is obtaining their own home, which will eventually become the family’s forever home, where they will build memories that will accompany them throughout their lives. However, as much as it is a goal for many people, this does not mean that it is something easy to achieve in all states of the country. For this reason, in this article, we will bring you an insider on the real estate market for the construction of residential homes in the state of New Jersey, USA.

New Jersey Construction Outlook

Before embarking on the adventure of building your own home, or investing in a residential real estate project in the state of New Jersey, it is important to have a broad look at how construction is carried out in that state, if there are any rules in particular, and a fairly general view of the matter. Keep in mind that in the United States, each state has its own laws and regulations, so here we will present those that are from New Jersey, but most likely they will be different from those of other states. In addition, the real estate market also has different peculiarities in each state, so keep in mind that here we will focus on this particular case.

In 2021, Governor Murphy and Lt. Governor Oliver through the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), working with the Division of Codes and Standards generated new building codes to protect the health and safety of residents, workers, and people that visit New Jersey.

This means that the state of New Jersey has a series of unified codes at the state level, which are standards and must be supervised by each municipal government, guaranteeing that they are applied in all communities. Within these codes appear the rules on what types of materials can be used, what is the height that buildings can have, in which areas they can be built and in which not.

Don’t let this scare you, New Jersey is a state open to all kinds of projects, but you should keep in mind that the government will be very closely reviewing all the movements you make, to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants. You can learn more about these codes on the official DCA website at https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/codreg/

Something important that makes New Jersey stand out from other neighboring states, especially New York, is that Airbnb is approved here, so this is another way for homeowners or building owners to recover and generate more profit. In addition to the typical rent or sale that you can have in each state, here is added the rent that you can get from tourists from all over the world who want to rent an Airbnb.

New Jersey Housing Market Analysis

A trend that has been occurring in the New Jersey housing market since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic is that there is a huge drop in investment in real estate projects, which has inevitably caused the number of real estate projects to drop and makes it seem like that the industry is falling in value.

Regarding the number of properties or land for sale, this number had a high peak in early 2021 (if the last 5 years are taken as a reference), and from there it has been going down. This drop in the number of properties for sale, (which is expected to drop even more), has a negative impact on buyers, since not only do they have less land available, but their prices are more expensive since there is less supply but the same claim number. Experts say that in the summer of this year there will be a peak in property values ​​and then they will drop again.

In any case, keep in mind that even though property values ​​are rising, the interest on the purchase of the same is at a historical low, so it is still a good time to buy since you will have profits in the future.

New Jersey Average House Price (Median Home Price)

In 2022 the cost of building a house, including the purchase price of land, ranges from $300,000 to $460,000. Within this range we are always treating medium-sized homes designed for a family of 4 people, that is, a house with a kitchen, two bathrooms, and 3 or 4 bedrooms. The price of building smaller houses, say 2 bedrooms, with a garage and a bathroom (usually on one level), is below $300,000.

Of course, prices vary depending on the area, the school district, the materials used, and the size you want each room to be. This is a fairly standard price that can be applied to the entire state of New Jersey, even those areas that are closer to New York (and tend to be more expensive).

New Jersey Residential Building Projects

Investors interested in New Jersey tend to invest in the construction of residential homes, these being large houses with large parks, to differentiate themselves from the large buildings in downtown New Jersey or New York City, which are quite close. In any case, there are real estate groups or groups of architects and builders who are investing and generating large building projects that are undoubtedly giving people something to talk about.

Michael Green Architecture, the group originally from Canada, is one of those that are promoting the construction of innovative and sustainable buildings in New Jersey. Including the tallest wooden building in the country. The project is carried out in a space of 46,452 square meters and is at the forefront of a trend that impacts the entire state.

This same company, together with other groups of architects or construction groups, is carrying out different similar projects throughout the region, proposing buildings constructed mostly of wood and glass, and there are other companies that are also following this format of building construction. Building with a view to sustainability and care for the environment is something that runs through all of New Jersey and is something to watch out for.

Construction began in 2022 and Nearing Completion. A newly-built 3 Bedroom House with 2 Bathrooms and 2 x Car Parking Spaces – on 1161 Route 50 Woodbine, New Jersey – Price $434,900

2020 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Single Family Homes in the State of New Jersey, USA

Class 1 – Luxury Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for luxury private homes in New Jersey ranges from $375.93 per sqft to $576.28 per sqft, with the average being $443.65 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 New Jersey ranges from $228.47 per sqft to $350.22 per sqft, with the average being $269.62 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 New Jersey ranges from $147.70 per sqft to $224.33 per sqft, with the average being $172.92 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 New Jersey ranges from $107.79 per sqft to $165.30 per sqft, with the average being $127.21 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 New Jersey ranges from $87.49 per sqft to $133.99 per sqft, with the average being $103.17 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 New Jersey ranges from $69.01 per sqft to $105.77 per sqft, with the average being $81.41 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 10 Metropolitan Areas/Cities in New Jersey – Percentage Deviation of the City/Town Building Cost from the National Average ($X), in Descending Order:

There are 564 municipalities grouped into 21 counties in the state of New Jersey. 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 New Jersey 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 New Jersey:

New Jersey Average 9% (9% more than X)

• Brick 087 2%
• Atlantic City 080-084 4%
• Paterson 074-075 7%
• Dover 078 9%
• Hackensack 076 10%
• Princeton 085 10%
• Newark 071-073 11%
• Monmouth 077 12%
• Passaic 070 12%
• Edison 088-089 13%

The Metropolitan Area List above as well as the Bar Graphs below shows that Brick is the cheapest city to build a private home in the state of New Jersey, and Edison is the most expensive city to build a home. Building costs are 2% above the national average in Brick and 13% above the national average in Edison.

Cheapest Places To Build in New Jersey:

Brick is the cheapest to place to build at 2% above the national average, followed by Atlantic City at 4%.

Expensive Places To Build in New Jersey:

If anything between 5% and 10% is considered expensive, then there are 4 such metropolitan areas in the state of New Jersey. Building costs in the City of Paterson are 7% above the national average.  The cost of building a home in Dover is 9% above the US average. Hackensack and Princeton are 10% above the USA average.

More Expensive Places To Build in New Jersey:

If anything between 10% and 15% is considered more expensive, then there are 4 such metropolitan areas in the state of New Jersey. Building costs in the City of Newark are 11% above the national average. The cost of building a home in Monmouth and Passaic is 12% above the US average. Edison is 13% above the national average.

Very Expensive Places To Build in New Jersey:

The most expensive places to build a house in the USA are those 15% above the national average. There are no such places in New Jersey.

New Jersey State Average Costs:

Private home building costs in the state of New Jersey are 9% above the US average. Building cost rates in the metropolitan areas of Dover, Hackensack and Princeton are closer to the New Jersey state average by a deviation of 1%. Edison is the most expensive city to build a home in New Jersey, and the state of New Jersey is number 46 on the national ascending costs scale. It is the 4^th most expensive state to build a house in the USA.