How much is it to build a house in Cayo, Belize, including San Ignacio and Belmopan?
Jonathan Lohr - Ceiba Realty Ltd.
I get asked this question every day. The truth is there really is no set price to build a house in Cayo and San Ignacio, Belize, because the price varies a lot. On the low end, you would spend about US $50 per square foot. That would be a very basic home, very simple and nothing fancy. From that amount, the sky is the limit because when you start importing things into Belize, the prices could go up really fast. A nice, average, North American standard home costs...
I get asked this question every day. The truth is there really is no set price to build a house in Cayo and San Ignacio, Belize, because the price varies a lot. On the low end, you would spend about US $50 per square foot. That would be a very basic home, very simple and nothing fancy. From that amount, the sky is the limit because when you start importing things into Belize, the prices could go up really fast. A nice, average, North American standard home costs around $100 per square foot or maybe a little more depending on the finish. For that amount, the house would be made out of cement and a galvanized roof or galvalum (galvanized roof covered in aluminum). Inside, you might have ceramic tiles, granite counter tops, local hardwood cabinets such as mahogany, cedar, or some other exotic hardwood. You would have average type of lighting, plumbing, and other fixtures. Everything would be of good quality. The contractor doesn’t normally include appliances in the home construction price. The ceiling of the house would probably be sheet rock or wood panel finish. It really depends on the person who is building and who they are building for.
My advice for those who would be building their own homes is that they watch the little things and watch their workers. You might see them waste nails or not put enough steel in the foundation. The most important thing when you are building your own home and you are hiring someone to do it, is that you hire someone reputable or you pay very close attention. The biggest problem that people run into is that the contractor doesn’t put enough steel in their foundation or they don’t put enough cement in the cement mix or they just do not do their job really well. They don’t finish things. In Belize, you don’t need a license to be a contractor. You could wake up tomorrow and you’re a contractor.
(Locally- sourced wood in kitchen and vaulted cielings in Cayo District home, Belize, pictured.)
Posted July 23, 2015
John Acott
We have good builders here in Cayo. People who come here to build a house should ask around amongst the expats first. Don’t just believe a Belizean who says he’s a good builder. Everybody in Belize is a good builder. Builders are cheap here. What’s more expensive is finishing the house because everything’s imported here. I have an American friend who is a contractor who would charge me US $100 a square foot for an American standard...
We have good builders here in Cayo. People who come here to build a house should ask around amongst the expats first. Don’t just believe a Belizean who says he’s a good builder. Everybody in Belize is a good builder. Builders are cheap here. What’s more expensive is finishing the house because everything’s imported here. I have an American friend who is a contractor who would charge me US $100 a square foot for an American standard house. I have a Belizean friend who’s a builder who would charge me Belize $100 a square foot for a house (US $50 per square foot). The cost depends mainly on the standard of the finish mainly. There will be very little difference in the construction. The main structure will be basically the same whichever builder builds it. The higher price which will be from the materials for the ceiling perhaps and better quality faucets, countertops, woodwork, cabinets, etc.
If you want to build a very, very nice house, the price you’ll be looking at is $120 per square foot. $120 is unusual, but it’s a very nice house. Most expats are living in a house that is already built or they build it themselves.
Most lots in town are about 80 by 100 feet, but they could be smaller or larger; there’s no set size. Outside of town there are much bigger lots – one or two acres, that sort of thing, and the price varies accordingly. The price in town for an 8,000 square foot lot (about a sixth of an acre) is about US $20,000, depending on the location. If you wanted to buy a lot twice that size, it would be less than double that
On the outskirts of town there are new estates all the time, and the land there is much cheaper. (San Ignacio is the fastest growing town in the country.) For example, one or two miles out of town, the price for the same lot would drop to $12,000 to $13,000.
On the outskirts of town, I have a three-acre lot for $54,000 in town on the outskirts.
Most of these lots are hooked up to municipal water or electricity and are ready to go.
(Custom built home in eco village, Cayp District, Belize, pictured.)
Posted August 28, 2015
Franklin Syrowatka - Better Homes Belize
If you want a home that is up to North American standards, where you will feel secure and everything is even and plum, and if you want to have nice tilework and some of the beautiful Belize hardwood in it it will cost you around US $80 to $100 per square foot in Cayo. This doesn’t include the lot. Of course you can get a house for less but you will see a clear difference in quality. Like anywhere in the world, you get what you pay for.Since the Belize government depends...
If you want a home that is up to North American standards, where you will feel secure and everything is even and plum, and if you want to have nice tilework and some of the beautiful Belize hardwood in it it will cost you around US $80 to $100 per square foot in Cayo. This doesn’t include the lot. Of course you can get a house for less but you will see a clear difference in quality. Like anywhere in the world, you get what you pay for.Since the Belize government depends heavily on import duties, building materials are expensive. Almost everything is imported and even the local cinder blocks contain cement from Mexico or Guatemala.
The second cost factor is the workforce. You pay less per day for labor here in Belize but productivity is also much lower because of the lack of skill and modern modern machinery as well as innovative building materials. In a way building in Belize today is like construction in the US 50 years ago. You can produce very nice quality but it is by far not as efficient as building in First World countries and this is why the prices are not as low as one might expect.
I am a fan of rainwater. We have plenty of rain in Cayo and its quality is superb because there is no industry nearby. I recommend big concrete in-ground cisterns between 10,000 and 20,000 gallon capacity for a family home. People use cisterns instead of wells because the ground in Belize is mainly limestone. So the water you get from the wells has an extremely high calcium content. Also water pumps use a lot of power. If you can get water from the heavens for free, there is absolutely no reason why not to use it. It is definitely the best choice. The average precipitation goes down in dry season but it doesn’t mean that it will not rain at all. Usually it rains very little for about three months in the year. That is why your water cistern needs to be big enough. Coming from Germany, I didn’t know that it could rain as hard as it does here in Cayo. We have a 30,000-gallon in ground cistern at our house. It fills up in two or three nights with heavy rains.
(Off the grid home built by Franklin Syrowatka, Cayo, Belize, pictured.)
Posted January 25, 2016
Virginia Krohn - Villa Cayo Belize
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It is not cheap to build here in Belize. Most people come here under the illusion that they can build a US quality home for very little money. That is just not true. The average cost to build a US quality house is not going to be less than US $125 per square foot and for really high quality $200US + depending on your demands. The good quality construction materials have to be imported and that is the biggest cost to construction. The next biggest expense is making...It is not cheap to build here in Belize. Most people come here under the illusion that they can build a US quality home for very little money. That is just not true. The average cost to build a US quality house is not going to be less than US $125 per square foot and for really high quality $200US + depending on your demands. The good quality construction materials have to be imported and that is the biggest cost to construction. The next biggest expense is making the mistake of hiring a local that tells you he can build this house for very little money. He can get the structure built but it may not be what you expect. If you want a cheap house then build it cheap. Get an experienced Belizean or Mennonite builder and build a simple, small square house with local building materials and you could get in around $70 US per sq ft.
This could be either wood or masonry and the finish would be a little bit less than what you see in the States. It won’t have granite countertops or expensive fixtures but it will be nice and it will function.
(Guest cottages built by R.G. Home Builders, Spanish Lookout, Belize, pictured.)
Posted June 4, 2016