Our price per sq ft was for finished interior sqftage. Our screened patio and decks was half the cost of the interior. We were doing fans/lighting and metal roof with screens and double doors.

here, south Louisiana, houses are priced on the interior square footage. they lump in the price of the garage and porches. for example, if we wanted to build a 2200 living/air conditioned sf house in a certain neighborhood -- let's call it Beau Place for fun. the builder would say, "the homes in Beau Place are running between 180 to 200 per square foot, so depending on what exactly you build in Beau Place, you can expect to pay anywhere between 396K to 440K."

They assume that the house will have a garage and porch, so they don't single that out.

It depends.

Interestingly, I received just this morning in my email an article discussing this very subject. See link below for article. (No, I am not affiliated with the company. Just forwarding on an informative article.)

"pricing houses by the square foot is a terribly imprecise exercise, so much so that even the builder who uses âÂÂsquare footâ with a frequency and ease that implies graduate school comprehension would never actually price a house by the square foot..."

Here is a link that might be useful: How Round are Your Square Feet article

Price per sq. ft. should give you a rough fair idea of your final price. But you have to find out what the builder is including in that figure. It differs from region to region, builder to builder.

And it's certainly not a quote!

Here, I'd tell you $185+++ as a minimum for starter luxury (if there is such a term) depending on finishes. That includes garages, porches, finished basement. But not our Provincial 13% Harmonized Sales Tax, which may apply to the land value, too.

On a side note - how many stories will your house be? Don't forget that a one story (for instance) will cost more than the same square footage in a 3 story. More roofing, more foundation (concrete, etc) in a one story.

Pricing a house by the square foot is roughly equivalent to pricing a car by the pound. A lot more goes into making up the final sticker than just that one particular measurement.