What Your Home Price Covers, and What Your Lot Adds

What New Era Homes’ Home Price Covers

Our pricing starts with the house itself.

For a Heritage Edition home, our current range is $175 to $250 per square foot. Heritage includes an existing Heritage floorplan, modifications within the scope of our Price Book, and options from the Price Book.

For a Premier Edition home, our current range is $195 to $300 per square foot. Premier includes Heritage standards while allowing greater customization of the floorplan, trim, finishes, and electrical and plumbing options.

Those ranges are based on a 2,000-square-foot home. At that size:

• A Heritage Edition home is approximately $350,000 to $500,000.
• A Premier Edition home is approximately $390,000 to $600,000.

These figures cover the home under the site assumptions outlined above. They are not an all-in project price that includes purchasing and developing the property.

Smaller homes also generally cost more per square foot. Our published pricing is based on a 2,000-square-foot home, so applying the same per-square-foot range to a much smaller home may not produce an accurate estimate.

Many construction expenses do not shrink in direct proportion to square footage. A smaller home still needs a kitchen, bathrooms, heating and cooling, electrical and plumbing systems, permits, construction management, and many of the same basic building components.

What Your Lot Adds to the Total Home Price

The land purchase price is just the starting point for the lot portion of your budget.

A Central Oregon property may also need work before you can build the foundation. The amount of work depends on the individual site, which is why it is important to separate lot price vs. home price when planning your project.

Land Purchase Price

The first figure is straightforward: what does the property cost?

Lot prices can vary based on location, acreage, views, zoning, neighborhood, proximity to Bend, and available infrastructure. But the purchase price alone does not tell you whether one property will ultimately cost more to build on than another.

A less expensive lot can become a more expensive project if it requires substantial site preparation.

Site Evaluation and Buildability

Before buying land, make sure you understand what you can build there.

Questions to consider include:

• What is the property zoned for?
• Where are the setbacks?
• How large is the usable building area?
• Is septic feasible?
• Are utilities available?
• Can construction equipment easily reach the homesite?
• Will the floorplan you want fit the property?

New Era Homes offers a no-cost property evaluation to help identify factors such as zoning, setbacks, septic, utilities, access, and other buildability concerns before you purchase land.

These details are often more useful than acreage alone when comparing properties.

Clearing, Excavation, Rock, and Grading

A homesite will need clearing, excavation, grading, drainage work, or rock removal before construction can begin.

This helps explain why there is no reliable formula that says a one-acre lot costs a certain amount more to build on than a half-acre lot. What matters is the work required where the house, driveway, utilities, and other improvements will go.

A flat, accessible building area and a steep or rocky one can lead to very different site-development costs, even when the parcels are similar in size.

Construction Access and Driveway Work

Access is important at every stage of construction.

Excavators, concrete trucks, framing deliveries, subcontractors, and other equipment need room to reach and work around the house. Our published home pricing assumes a flat, level lot with access on all sides.

Restricted access may call for additional work or logistical planning. Long driveways, steep approaches, tight staging areas, or difficult material-delivery routes can also affect the cost of preparing the lot.

Water, Sewer, Well, and Septic

Next, consider how you’ll handle water and wastewater.

Depending on the property, that may involve:

• Municipal water
• A private well
• Municipal sewer
• A septic system

An in-town Bend property connected to existing infrastructure can have a very different cost structure from a rural property that requires a well and septic system.

These expenses are evaluated separately because they depend on the property, not simply on the size or price of the house.

Power and Other Utilities

Utility costs also vary by lot.

Electrical service may require trenching, extension work, or other improvements depending on where existing service is located. Similar considerations may apply to other utilities.

“Utilities available” does not always mean “utilities connected to the homesite.” Before setting your total budget, make sure you understand exactly what services are in place and what work will be required to bring them to the house.

Permits and System Development Charges

Properties in Bend are subject to permit fees and System Development Charges.

The City of Bend explains that SDCs help fund infrastructure needed to serve new development, including transportation, water, sewer, and parks. For residential development, applicable charges can vary by project and property.

Evaluate these costs for the specific homesite instead of assuming a standard amount.

Does a Bigger Lot Automatically Mean a More Expensive Build?

Not necessarily.

A larger lot may cost more to purchase because you are buying more land. But acreage alone does not determine construction cost.

Consider these two properties. The first is a larger parcel with a flat building site, easy road access, adequate staging space, and utilities close to the proposed home. The second is smaller but has significant slope, rock, limited equipment access, and utilities that need to be extended.

The smaller lot may cost more to prepare for construction.

That’s why you should consider lot size, lot value, and site-development cost separately: lot size tells you how much land you have, while lot price tells you what you are paying to own it.

Site-development cost tells you what must happen before and around the home so it can be built properly.

Lot Price vs. Home Price: A Better Way to Build Your Budget

While researching new construction, you may come across a lot-to-home price ratio.

In real estate and development, the term generally compares the value of a finished lot with the value of the finished home. It can be useful as an analytical tool, but there is no universal ratio that tells an individual homeowner how much a particular Bend or Central Oregon property will cost to develop.

For a new home buyer, a more practical way to plan the budget is:

This keeps each part of the project budget clear.

It also helps avoid a common budgeting mistake: assuming that a $400,000 home means the entire project will cost $400,000.

The house price is just one part of the total. The land and the work required to make that land build-ready are separate.

A 2,000-Square-Foot Central Oregon Example

Begin with the known part of the equation.

For a 2,000-square-foot Heritage Edition home, our published range is approximately $350,000 to $500,000.

For a 2,000-square-foot Premier Edition home, the published range is approximately $390,000 to $600,000.

Next, add the property. If you already know the lot’s purchase price, include that amount in your budget separately from the home.

Then assess the property-specific costs, which may include:

• Clearing
• Excavation and grading
• Rock removal
• Construction access
• Driveway work
• Water or well work
• Sewer or septic
• Power and utilities
• Permits
• Applicable development charges

The calculation becomes:

The final total depends on the property.

That may not be as simple as applying a single lot-to-home price ratio, but it provides a more useful budget by separating the known house cost from the site-specific expenses that need to be evaluated.

What Is Already Included in the Home Price?

Price per square foot is only meaningful when you know what it includes.

Our Heritage Edition includes several features that buyers may find listed as upgrades elsewhere. Current Heritage standards include items such as:

• Triple-pane windows
• KitchenAid appliances
• Hardwood through the great room, dining room, kitchen, and entry
• Slab quartz or granite kitchen countertops
• Tile flooring in bathrooms
• Full-height tile kitchen backsplash
• Under-cabinet lighting
• Hot-water recirculation pump
• Upgraded light fixture package
• Upgraded carpet

The current standards list also includes additional interior, exterior, plumbing, lighting, and finish details. Premier homes carry the same underlying New Era standards while offering more freedom to customize.

These details matter when comparing builders.

A lower advertised cost per square foot is not necessarily a lower final price if many of the features you want need to be added later. Compare the specifications behind the number, not just the number itself.

What Is an Allowance?

An allowance is different from a standard feature.

An allowance is a budgeted amount for a specified item that has not yet been finally selected. The Oregon Construction Contractors Board identifies items such as fixtures, plumbing fixtures, lighting, and appliances as examples that may be handled through allowances in a construction contract.

For example, if your contract includes an allowance for a particular selection and you choose an item within that amount, the selection stays within the budget.

If you choose something that costs more than the allowance, the difference affects the project price.

Before finalizing your agreement, understand which items are included as standards and which, if any, are covered by allowances.

Clearly defined allowances help you understand the project budget before making selections.

What Happens if You Go Over an Allowance?

Going over an allowance means the item you select costs more than the amount budgeted for that category.

That is different from an unexpected site-development cost, and it is not necessarily the same thing as changing the scope of the home.

It is a selection decision.

Before signing a construction agreement, make sure you understand:

• Which selections have allowances
• How much is allocated to each allowance
• How costs above an allowance are handled
• How any price adjustment is documented

Having this information up front helps you compare options and make informed choices while keeping the total budget in view.

What Turns a Request Into a Change Order?

A change order applies when the agreed scope of construction changes.

The Oregon Construction Contractors Board describes a change order as an amendment documenting a change to the original project scope. When the change affects price, that impact should also be documented.

A change order may become necessary when a homeowner requests additional work, revises part of the project after the contract has been finalized, or changes an agreed specification in a way that alters the original scope.

It helps to distinguish between four categories:

• Standard: Already included in the applicable home specifications.
• Allowance: A budgeted amount for an item that has not yet been selected.
• Upgrade: A selection beyond the included specification or budget.
• Change order: A documented change to the agreed scope of construction.

Understanding these distinctions helps you see why a project price changes and which decision led to it.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Lot in Bend or Central Oregon

A beautiful property is only a good homesite if it suits the home you want and the budget you have.

Before committing to land, ask:

• What zoning applies?
• What setbacks affect the usable building area?
• Will your preferred home fit the property?
• Is the homesite flat or sloped?
• Is significant excavation or rock work likely?
• Can construction equipment easily access the site?
• Is municipal water available?
• Will you need a well?
• Is sewer available?
• Will the property require septic?
• Where are the electrical and other utility connections?
• How much driveway or access work is needed?
• What permits and development charges may apply?

A lower purchase price does not automatically make a property a better value if making it buildable requires significantly more work.

If you have a Bend or Central Oregon property in mind, talk with New Era Homes before basing your decision on the asking price alone. Our no-cost property evaluation can help you understand how the lot may affect the home you want to build.