Building Costs Per Square Foot in the State of West Virginia – Single Family Homes

Last Updated on April 8, 2024 by admin

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As of 2024, building costs in the state of West Virginia are -8% below 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 West Virginia, USA

• Class 1 – Luxury Homes – $348.02 to $559.42 per sqft
• Class 2 – Semi Luxury Homes – $211.53 to $339.99 per sqft
• Class 3 – Best Standard Homes – $136.91 to $217.77 per sqft
• Class 4 – Good Standard Homes – $99.78 to $160.46 per sqft
• Class 5 – Average Standard Homes – $81.02 to $130.08 per sqft
• Class 6 – Minimum Standard  Homes – $63.90 to $102.68 per sqft

West Virginia Single Family Houses 2024 Building Costs

2024 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Manufactured Housing in the State of West Virginia, 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 – $128.13 to $148.02 per sqft
• Good Quality Housing – $107.45 to $130.59 per sqft
• Average Quality Housing – $86.37 to $113.73 per sqft
• Low Average Quality Housing – $72.87 to $99.09 per sqft
• Lowest Quality Housing – $62.38 to $87.66 per sqft

West Virginia Manufactured Housing 2024 Building Costs

2022 Residential Construction Market Analysis in the State of West Virginia, USA

Building costs are 5% below the national average in the state of West Virginia, and equivalent to the states of Florida, Oklahoma, Maine and Vermont. If you like adventure, and the great outdoors, then West Virginia is for you. The Mountain State is perfect for adventurers not only in extreme activities but also in the real estate market. This state is one of the few that has not been greatly affected by the real estate crisis that is occurring on a large scale in the country.

Properties are selling fast, property prices are expected to come down a bit, and the place is attracting more people, making it the perfect place for investors or for families who want to live there.

In this article we will focus on the particular case of the real estate and residential construction market in West Virginia, talking about what the constructions are like, what the values are, and what are the trends that can be expected in the future.

West Virginia Construction Outlook

Many people confuse West Virginia as a northern state since it is on the border of the region, but it is actually considered a southern state. To understand its constructions, it is necessary to know a little about its climate and its natural composition.

West Virginia has a humid climate on the mainland. In mountainous areas, winter can be a little longer. A few days of extreme temperatures are observed in summer, but during winter there are usually heavy snowfalls in the largest urban centers.

This means that the winters can be harsh, so the buildings must be prepared to face this. The houses are usually made of bricks and cement, and the entrances are prepared not to be completely covered by snow. That’s why there is usually a covered space before the door, so people don’t get trapped by the snow.

There are no very tall buildings, not even in Charleston, which is the capital. However, there are some medium or small building projects that are expected to be ready by the end of this year or early 2023.

West Virginia Housing Market Analysis and Forecast

Despite the crisis in the real estate system that is currently being seen in the country, where prices are rising and supply is falling (among other more worrying things), experts affirm that West Virginia is in a good situation, or at least not so negative.

What is happening in this state and is related to what is happening at the national level is the drop in the number of houses or properties listed. New properties for sale in West Virginia were put on the market in the Charleston, Huntington, and Parkersburg areas in February of this year, but in the other towns, very few properties were added to the list.

As for the actuality of sales, there was a 1.6% increase in the number of properties sold compared to the same period in 2021, although this may vary in different cities. For example in Martinsburg, there was an increase of 8% with respect to the sales of the same period last year.

Properties take an average of 33 days to sell, which is a considerable improvement even from last month when the average was 45 days.

Apart from this, in West Virginia, houses usually sell for a price 45% above the estimated price during 2022, which is good for sellers and investors but not so much for buyers. In any case, there was a slight drop in the number of properties purchased, so it is expected that at least 20% of the properties listed will lower their prices in the coming months.

West Virginia Average House Price (Median Home Price)

The average value of the median home in West Virginia is $120,000, although do not forget that this is a general average of all the properties on the market, distributed in different cities and towns of the state. If you think of a house with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room, a garage, and a small garden, then the price ranges from $100,000 to $250,000, always thought of as homes for the middle or lower class, and not luxury

You can find some 4+ bedroom homes for prices just over $150,000 in cities like Morgantown or Princeton. In Charleston or Huntington, these types of properties usually exceed $290,000. So as you can see, prices can vary a lot depending on the type of property it is and where it is located, and there are also other external factors that influence such as quality of life, the number of nearby hospitals, the quality of the school district, the unemployment rate, among others.

The important thing in this real estate market where sellers have a certain advantage is not to despair and be prepared to negotiate and give lower offers at the listed price, without fear of being rejected, since in the worst case you will have to look for another property to buy.

Proposed Residential Building Projects in West Virginia

In the capital of West Virginia, which is Charleston, there are some building construction projects, ranging from small buildings of 10 floors to others of 30. They are modern buildings but with a classic and traditional style. In their apartments, there is space for families, and single people, and even to be used as studio apartments.

In the towns of Huntington, Wheeling, Parkersburg, and Morgantown there are some construction companies that are promoting projects of luxury residential houses. They are usually houses that exceed the value of $700,000 but have more than 5 rooms, the exteriors have a beautiful design, and luxury is also found inside the house with the highest quality materials.

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2020 Building Costs Per Square Foot for Single Family Homes in the State of West Virginia, USA (NATIONAL ESTIMATOR)

Building costs are 5% below the national average in the state of West Virginia, and equivalent to the states of Florida, Oklahoma, Maine and Vermont.

Class 1 – Luxury Single Family Homes

The building cost per square foot for luxury private homes in West Virginia ranges from $327.65 per sqft to $502.27 per sqft, with the average being $386.67 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 West Virginia ranges from $199.13 per sqft to $305.24 per sqft, with the average being $234.99 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 West Virginia ranges from $128.73 per sqft to $195.52 per sqft, with the average being $150.71 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 West Virginia ranges from $93.95 per sqft to $144.07 per sqft, with the average being $110.87 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 West Virginia ranges from $76.26 per sqft to $116.78 per sqft, with the average being $89.92 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 West Virginia ranges from $60.14 per sqft to $92.19 per sqft, with the average being $70.95 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 16 Metropolitan Areas/Cities in West Virginia – Percentage Deviation of the City/Town Building Cost from the National Average ($X), in Descending Order:

There are 234 municipalities and 309 special districts grouped into 55 counties in the state of West Virginia. 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 West Virginia 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 West Virginia:

West Virginia Average -5% (-5% less than X)

• Lewisburg 249 -14%
• Fairmont 266 -11%
• New Martinsville 262 -9%
• Sugar Grove 268 -8%
• Clarksburg 263-264 -7%
• Romney 267 -7%
• West Virginia Average -5%
• Beckley 258-259 -5%
• Martinsburg 254 -5%
• Huntington 255-257 -4%
• Morgantown 265 -4%
• Bluefield 247-248 0%
• Parkersburg 261 1%
• Charleston 250-253 4%
• Wheeling 260 5%

The Metropolitan Area List above as well as the Bar Graphs below shows that Lewisburg is the cheapest city to build a private home in the state of West Virginia, and Wheeling is the most expensive city to build a home. Building costs are -14% below the national average in Lewisburg and 5% above the national average in Wheeling.

Cheapest Places To Build in West Virginia:

Lewisburg is the cheapest place to build at -14% below the national average, followed by Fairmont at -11% below the national average. The third cheapest place to build a house is New Martinsville at -9% below the national average, followed by Super Grove at -8% below the national average. The fourth cheapest place to build is Clarksburg and Romney at -7% below the national average, followed by Beckley and Martinsburg at -5% below the national average.  The fifth cheapest place to build a home is Huntington and Morgantown at -4% below the national average. Construction costs in Parkersburg are 1% above the national average, and those in Charleston are 4% above the national average. Building costs in Bluefield are equivalent to the USA average.

Expensive Places To Build in West Virginia:

If anything between 5% and 10% is considered expensive, then there is one such metropolitan area in West Virginia. Building costs in Wheeling are 5% above the US average.

More Expensive Places To Build in West Virginia:

If anything between 10% and 15% is considered more expensive, then there is no such metropolitan area in West Virginia.

Very Expensive Places To Build in West Virginia:

The most expensive places to build a house in West Virginia are those 15% above the national average. There is no such metropolitan area in West Virginia.

West Virginia State Average Costs:

Private home building costs in the state of West Virginia are -5% below the national average. Building cost rates in the metropolitan areas of Huntington, Morgantown are closer to the West Virginia state average by a deviation of 1%. Residential development costs in Bluefield are equivalent to the national average. Wheeling is the most expensive city to build a home in the state. West Virginia is one of the cheapest states to build a home in the United States, at number 10 in the national ascending costs scale.