A Wilton architect is under pressure from his clients to complete design work ASAP and go to bid now in order to seize the economic moment and decrease building costs all around.
“Many people with cash and low financing are taking advantage of the down market and getting great deals,” said Doug Cutler of Doug Cutler Architects P.C. in Wilton. “We have recently received commissions from anxious clients that want to seize the moment regarding designing and building of homes in this depressed construction market, knowing they will save big money.
“These particular clients always wanted a beach house, but the cost was sky high. Savvy customers are realizing that construction costs per square foot are never going to get better than this. People with the money can possibly get their building built for 25 percent less than what it may otherwise cost a year or two from now.”
Factory-built modular units will provide the makings for the 3,000-square-foot Massachusetts beach house his clients are eager to see built at a cost of about $500,000. Cutler said construction should begin this summer.
“One of our office specialties is custom-designed higher-end modular housing, which can speed up the building process and potentially beat the clock,” Cutler said. “In this process, we can have a building built 80 percent complete from the sill plate up in five days at the factory. Of course there is some on-site work that takes additional time, but still much less than conventional building does.”
Cutler tells his customers the lead time to design a building, get approvals and go to bid could take six months or more on a large house.Â
“If you don’t start soon, you could very well be into next year”™s building season,” Cutler said. “When the market does come back, the cost to build could very well be $500 per square foot. Look out!” The Massachusetts beach house should work out to $167 per square foot.
