When you look at the properties that set apart a PHNX Home from traditional construction, one of the first things that may come to mind is whether or not the home will be within your budget.
Unlike most traditional homes, a PHNX Home provides the highest level of wildfire resistance possible under building code and is also resistant to extreme winds, water, rot and pests—the ultimate in climate resilience. Further, each PHNX Home also has a full-capacity solar array and battery backup storage system, making it a true net-zero energy home. These awesome features must come at a high cost, right?
In reality, a PHNX Home is no more expensive than traditional, wood-framed construction, and in many cases it can be more economical. Each PHNX Home is a custom design—and prices can vary based upon market, site conditions, and features desired by the homeowner. For that reason, we really don’t like using cost-per-square-foot numbers, because there are so many variables that can affect the price—however, since that’s an analysis that most people understand, we’ll run some numbers and try our best to explain it.
The most recent PHNX Home under construction near Yosemite National Park in Groveland, CA has a construction cost of $365 per built square foot — which includes extensive site work, a solar/battery system, deck, covered patio, and all finishes. In our estimation, that same home built of wood, would cost well over $425 per square foot, and would not have the same noncombustible properties.
Moreover, this lakefront home was situated on a 40-degree slope with lots of rock, so site work accounted for about $50 per square foot—which wouldn’t have been needed in a traditional, suburban neighborhood.
At the time of writing this blog post, the construction costs for homes in our current pipeline are ranging from $334-$525 per square foot, with the most expensive figure being our smallest home, at 2,000 square feet. Our largest home to date is priced at $334 per square foot, but the home is more than double our smallest, at 4,780 square feet.
What do the market analysts say?
This recent article from Homebuyer cites California statewide average construction costs ranging $200-$400 per square foot for a basic builder-grade home, and $400-$600 for a custom home. That’s quite a range! (This is likely to be attributed to the difference between high-volume tract developments and individual custom homes.) Another source, this paper by Headwaters Economics and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety lists the mean cost of a typical home in Southern California being between $1,215,000 and $1,395,000. They don’t list a square footage cost, but if you conservatively assume 2,500 square feet as a nice-sized family home, that range would be $486-$558 per square foot.
In this article by Homelight, you can see the wide disparity between estimated costs, as influenced by the geographic market.
PHNX Homes – a premium home at a reasonable price
Most sources that give you average per-square-foot construction cost figures are quoting cost for a basic builder-grade home. In comparison, PHNX Homes are fully custom and include many upgraded finishes and features, premium appliances, and a full-capacity Mitsubishi solar array and battery storage system.
And that’s BEFORE we get to the noncombustible features. We’ve already established that a PHNX Home is no more expensive, and in many cases cheaper, than traditional construction. Now let’s consider that each PHNX Home is Type IA, fully noncombustible construction per building code. What would the cost look like if you added noncombustible properties to a traditional home? The best you’re going to do with traditional construction is using home hardening techniques to try to make a house safer, but wood will always be wood, and will always be at risk of burning.
And home hardening doesn't come cheap. According to the above-referenced study by Headwaters Economics and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, home hardening added $27,000 to building material costs, increasing the overall construction budget by 13 percent.
How do we keep a PHNX Home so competitively priced?
While concrete and rebar generally add to construction costs in traditional builds, our patent-pending PHNX LongspanTM roof and floor system significantly offsets these expenses. This innovative approach streamlines construction, reduces material waste, and lowers labor costs, resulting in cost savings that make our concrete builds as competitive as traditional methods. This is precisely why many other builders struggle with concrete—without a system like Longspan, the added costs can be prohibitive.
The primary way PHNX Development is able to keep its home costs down is through a streamlined project schedule. With design innovations developed by PHNX founder and architect Laurie Fisher, she was able to cut the construction timeline nearly in half, as compared to traditional construction.
Read more here in our "Truth about Noncombustible Construction" whitepaper, under Myth #3.
Insurance Savings – the gift that keeps on giving
PHNX Homes provide homeowners with significant insurance savings over a hardened home, as well. In November, PHNX Development announced an alliance with Mercury Insurance, with the insurer committing to offering special rates for PHNX’s Type IA Homes. The first Mercury policy on a PHNX Home provided a 41 percent savings for the homeowner, over their California Fair Plan policy. The home was a fire rebuild, and was located in an area blacklisted by insurance companies due to its high fire risk.
In a recent interview with ABC7, The Palos family stated their insurance policy with their PHNX Home is cheaper than their policy on their old home, which they lost in the 2017 Tick Fire.
Under California law, insurance companies must offer discounts to homes that meet criteria under the “Safer From Wildfires” guidelines—but it doesn’t amount to much when compared to the savings you can anticipate for having a PHNX Home. United Policyholders, a nonprofit advocacy group, helps consumers navigate the increasingly challenging insurance landscape. “Mitigation discounts vary from insurer to insurer, ranging from USAA’s 5% discount to homeowners in communities that have earned the “Firewise” designation, to the 15% the Fair Plan offers for hardened homes with defensible space in Firewise communities,” said Amy Bach, executive director, United Policyholders.
Pricing out your PHNX Home
PHNX Development has developed a Cost Estimator tool to help homeowners cost out a PHNX Home of their own. This tool is designed to provide a rough budget for feasibility purposes. What sets our streamlined process apart from other builders is our commitment to working within your budget from the very start. We design your project with your financial parameters in mind and guide you every step of the way, ensuring you make informed decisions that reflect the realities of current costs. This approach ensures that by the time your plans are finalized into construction documents, you'll have a clear understanding of your home's projected cost. While we strive to provide accurate estimates, please note that fluctuations in building material prices may lead to slight adjustments over time.
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