Price Per Square Foot Calculator

Let me break down this “price per square foot” thing for you guys in a way that’s easy to understand. It’s really not as complicated as it sounds.

Price per square foot is just a number that shows how much you’re paying for the actual livable space inside a house or apartment. To figure it out, you take the total asking price of the place and divide it by the square footage of only the indoor living areas – bedrooms, kitchen, living room, etc. Don’t include exterior spaces like garages, basements, or yards in that square footage calculation.

For example, let’s say a house costs $300,000 total and has 1,500 square feet of livable interior space. If you divide $300,000 by 1,500, you get $200. So the price per square foot for that house is $200 check . See, pretty straightforward math!

You might be wondering, why does knowing the price per square foot matter at all? Well, there are a couple key reasons:

• It allows you to actually compare two different-sized homes on a fair playing field. A 2,000 square foot house for $300,000 ($150 per sq ft) is obviously a way better value than a 1,500 square foot home for that same $300k price tag ($200 per sq ft).
• It can give you a sense of whether a home is potentially overpriced or underpriced compared to typical values in that neighborhood or area. If you see two nearly identical houses but their prices per square foot are really out of whack, chances are one is mispriced.

Now, don’t get me wrong – price per square foot alone won’t tell you everything about whether a home is worth the listing price or not. You still have to consider the location, age, condition, amenities, and all those other deciding factors. But ignoring price per square foot would be like buying a used car without checking the mileage. It’s just important info to have.

These days, many real estate listings will outright show you the price per square foot for that property, which is super convenient. But if not, it’s a simple matter of taking the total asking price and dividing by the square footage yourself. Might be worth bookmarking an online price per square foot calculator to make it even easier.

The bottom line is, knowing and understanding price per square foot puts you ahead of the game when buying a home. It gives you one more crucial piece of data to help ensure you get the most bang for your buck without overpaying. And at the end of the day, making a solid long-term investment you’ll be happy with for years? That’s priceless.