Why You Will Not Find a Price Per Square Foot on This Page

A number without your lot and your selections behind it is a guess, and a guess is a poor way to begin a relationship that will last a year and shape where your family lives for decades. Two homes built from the same plan, in the same parish, in the same month, can finish a long way apart because one sits on a lot that needed a pad and a culvert and the other did not, or because one kitchen was built at the standard allowance and the other was not.

So rather than publish a figure that would be wrong for most of the people reading it, we would rather explain what moves the number, show you how we price, and then give you a real budget for your home. That is the same approach we take with every client, whether they build on their own land or in Audubon Parc.

Your Lot Decides More Than Your Plan

Before a single board is cut, the land has to be made ready. In Lafayette Parish and the towns around it, that can mean dirt work and a raised pad, drainage, a driveway culvert, bringing utilities to the house, and the choice between sewer and a septic system. Flood zone and elevation requirements change what the foundation has to do. None of this shows up in a floor plan, and all of it shows up in the budget.

This is also where the two ways of building with us differ. On your own lot, site work is priced for your specific piece of ground after we walk it with you. In Audubon Parc, the homesite, the pad and the utilities are already part of the home, which is why those homes are priced turn-key. We explain the difference in Dirt Work, Pads, and Site Prep and Septic vs. Sewer.

Selections and Allowances

Every budget we write carries an allowance for each finish category: flooring, cabinets, countertops, plumbing and lighting fixtures, appliances and trim. Choose within the allowance and the number holds. Choose above it and the difference is added, openly, as a line you can see. The allowances are set at a level that builds a beautiful home, not a bare one, and they are the single biggest reason two identical plans finish at different prices.

Because our contracts are cost-plus, there is no incentive for us to steer you toward a more expensive choice. You see the actual invoice for the countertop, not a marked-up version of it. How Allowances Really Work walks through the mechanics.

Design, Size and the Things Square Footage Does Not Count

Square footage under air is the number people compare, but it misses most of what you are paying for. Cathedral ceilings with exposed beams, a layered gable roofline, a full-width porch, an outdoor kitchen, a three-car garage, a second story: each adds cost without adding heated square feet. A compact plan with a complex roof can cost more than a larger plan with a simple one. We cover the choices that move the number most in The Design Choices That Impact Cost the Most.

How Your Builder Prices the Work

The fourth driver is the one most people never ask about. Some builders quote one fixed number and keep whatever they save inside it. Others, including us, build cost-plus: you pay the actual cost of materials, labor and subcontractors, plus a builder fee we state in writing before we start. The fee covers management, scheduling, supervision and warranty. It is the only place we make our margin, so your interests and ours point the same direction. Cost-Plus vs. Fixed-Price and What the Builder Fee Actually Covers explain both sides.