How much is it to build a house in San Miguel de Allende?

Evaluating the price of an existing home for sale, I calculate what I estimate it would cost me to build it, figuring I could get the construction done today for around US $60 to $100 per sq. ft. depending on details like the kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and decorative architectural features. A lot of the colonial style houses here contain hand-cut stone used in the construction of columns, arches, fireplaces, floors, stairways, etc. and features like this, and in-floor radiant...

Evaluating the price of an existing home for sale, I calculate what I estimate it would cost me to build it, figuring I could get the construction done today for around US $60 to $100 per sq. ft. depending on details like the kitchen and bathroom fixtures, and decorative architectural features. A lot of the colonial style houses here contain hand-cut stone used in the construction of columns, arches, fireplaces, floors, stairways, etc. and features like this, and in-floor radiant heating, can easily end up raising the cost closer to US $130 per square foot.

 

I could buy enough land for a nice garden area and construct a beautiful 2,500 sq. ft. home that my wife and I would be thrilled with for probably considerably less than US $250,000. However, you could easily spend twice that much or more for a the same size land and house, depending on where and what you want you to build, and the extent to which you are focused on rental income potential if you’re not going to be a full-time occupant of your home here.

 

(Pictured: Courtyard and cantera fountain in San MIguel de Allende.)

If you were going to have a new construction in San Miguel de Allende, a good and nice architect would charge you between US $700 to $1,000 per square meter ($65 to $95 per square foot). For $1,000 per square meter ($95 per square foot), you will get really top of the line appliances and exquisite finishing while $700 to $800 per square meter ($65 to $75 per square foot) would give you a standard home, which is like what most people are used to in the US.

 

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If you were going to have a new construction in San Miguel de Allende, a good and nice architect would charge you between US $700 to $1,000 per square meter ($65 to $95 per square foot). For $1,000 per square meter ($95 per square foot), you will get really top of the line appliances and exquisite finishing while $700 to $800 per square meter ($65 to $75 per square foot) would give you a standard home, which is like what most people are used to in the US.

 

There are some architects here in San Miguel de Allende that will charge you administration fees, which is a percentage of the amount that you spent on new construction, which has become an issue here in San Miguel de Allende. It is dangerous because you could end up having an incredible home but it can also be an incredibly expensive home.

 

We have architects here in San Miguel de Allende play the role of an architect and the contractor, too. They will take you through the whole process of construction. I would always recommend Americans and Mexicans to try to get a fixed price contract. If they want to add something to the house, I advise that they get a budget first before they get into doing it.

 

(Home in Rancho Labradores, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

In San Miguel de Allende, for US $100 a foot, you can build a nice house with masonry construction, nice tiles, cantera stone, fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, and tall ceilings. This will also include the hookups for gas logs for your fireplace, and main heating, but no ductwork; our homes here generally do not have central heating or air conditioning. Landscaping would be extra, but it’s not very expensive. 

 

Construction costs in San...

In San Miguel de Allende, for US $100 a foot, you can build a nice house with masonry construction, nice tiles, cantera stone, fireplaces, stainless steel appliances, and tall ceilings. This will also include the hookups for gas logs for your fireplace, and main heating, but no ductwork; our homes here generally do not have central heating or air conditioning. Landscaping would be extra, but it’s not very expensive. 

 

Construction costs in San Miguel de Allende have gone down, but my quotes provide a nice buffer. I always like to have people be pleasantly surprised, because building can get expensive if you start adding stuff, and people can get disappointed when they have a number in mind.

 

I often quote in dollars because most of my clients are Americans or Canadians. Even at a 15:1 pesos-dollar exchange rate, US $100 will get you good construction in San Miguel de Allende. I’m usually advising people on building and expectation, so I want people to be happy with their estimates in their heads on the price of building a home in San Miguel de Allende. I think they could get less than $100 a square foot easily, especially with the current exchange rate, but at the same time, importing materials from the States can be quite expensive when you have to buy them using pesos. There’s an exchange of what you want versus the exchange rate between dollars and pesos.

 

In San Miguel de Allende, you need to hire an architect who’s registered in this area. In order to build in San Miguel de Allende, you need to submit plans to the government and have these plans approved. Before the project is done, the government will come and inspect the property, and give you a terminacion de obra (work termination paper) to say that the construction is done, that it meets with the standards, and that it matches what was submitted, and they sign off on that.

 

In building a property in San Miguel de Allende, you’ll be working with the builders who are generally very good. The construction in San Miguel de Allende is also very straightforward because it’s firm land, and the construction is masonry, so they use bricks and reinforced concrete, which are solid. The quality of finishes is something that you need to work out with your builder. The construction techniques guarantee that you’re going to get a pretty solid house, though.

 

(Tuscan-style home, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The first house I built in San Miguel de Allende was a two-bedroom, one and a half bath home, for the cost of US $140,000, with the lot another US $30,000, so that was a total of US $170,000. It was 1,300 square feet, so the cost of construction was for US $107 a foot. It was a phenomenal house. 

 

My first house in San Miguel de Allende was a completely finished house- it had really excellent ceramic tiles, I had light fixtures that I designed myself,...

The first house I built in San Miguel de Allende was a two-bedroom, one and a half bath home, for the cost of US $140,000, with the lot another US $30,000, so that was a total of US $170,000. It was 1,300 square feet, so the cost of construction was for US $107 a foot. It was a phenomenal house. 

 

My first house in San Miguel de Allende was a completely finished house- it had really excellent ceramic tiles, I had light fixtures that I designed myself, and for the garden, I contracted the very best landscape architect in San Miguel de Allende who had designed the most expensive hotel gardens in San Miguel- the Rosewood Hotel. 

 

Everything in my first house in San Miguel de Allende was tile, and I had really fine woodworking, all arched doors, casings on the windows, a full rooftop terrace with a beautiful pergola, and a view of the Parroquia, which is the main church in town. I was my own contractor when this house in San Miguel de Allende was built. I worked with an architect, and he had a crew that consisted of up to 25 men. They built the house in 6 months. It was the first time I built my own home. I did other things with my first husband, but it’s the first time I built a house all by myself. The cost of building my first house in San Miguel de Allende was very reasonable. 

 

The second house that I built in San Miguel de Allende is the place where I currently live. The cost of building my second house was a little over US $200,000, including the lot. Its size is 1,800 square feet in a planned community. This was not in Centro, as it would cost more, but it’s also not in the unimproved general area where it would cost less.

 

The first time, I bought a small lot near Centro, which was a 10-minute walking distance into town. I walked everywhere. It was very, very convenient. I also had a car because I drove myself to Mexico. It was really very reasonable. I’d sold a California home, but I sold the home during the crash so I didn’t make as much money as I would have made otherwise. I made enough to come to San Miguel, build a house, and be okay.

 

(Rosewood Hotel courtyard, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

The cost per square foot to build a house in San Miguel de Allende is all over the place. A rough estimate of the cost would be anywhere from 7,000 pesos per square meter (US $35 per square foot) to double that if you really want to put a lot of handcraft stone into your house. $35 per square foot would be cutting corners such as rather than having stone counter tops, you might have poured cement. You'd be just on the good side of the kind of house where people would say, "Oh...

The cost per square foot to build a house in San Miguel de Allende is all over the place. A rough estimate of the cost would be anywhere from 7,000 pesos per square meter (US $35 per square foot) to double that if you really want to put a lot of handcraft stone into your house. $35 per square foot would be cutting corners such as rather than having stone counter tops, you might have poured cement. You'd be just on the good side of the kind of house where people would say, "Oh this is cool." But you wouldn’t be blowing anybody away with those details. Spending $100 per square foot to build a house in San Miguel de Allende would give a very good level of craftsmanship.

 

The cost to build a house in San Miguel de Allende depends on so many different things, but spending $70-$75 a square foot you’d be able to have a house that’s envied by someone who visits you from the States. They wouldn't believe the level of craftsmanship put in the house because so much of the stuff is difficult to send completed like the boveda ceilings. In the end, it's cost effective to build houses that can stand for couple hundred years because you don't use the timber frame.

 

So for 7,000 pesos per square meter (US $35 per square foot) in San Miguel de Allende, your house would be like a tract home without upgrades. It’s not a house that's so austere that you're not comfortable, but if you put in a little more money building a house in San Miguel de Allende, you're going to have some cooler details. 

 

(Wood rafters in a  stairwell in Ventanas de San Miguel, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, pictured.)

Readers, I can give you insight as someone who built my own home in San Miguel de Allende and also as a Realtor who has helped many clients investigate doing so, and can tell you it can vary almost as widely as buying an already built home.  As little as a year ago, my clients were given a budget of $80 USD per square foot (excluding lighting, appliances and landscaping) for what we would call Mexican contemporary, meaning some stone and wood touches, but cleaner, less ornamental...

Readers, I can give you insight as someone who built my own home in San Miguel de Allende and also as a Realtor who has helped many clients investigate doing so, and can tell you it can vary almost as widely as buying an already built home.  As little as a year ago, my clients were given a budget of $80 USD per square foot (excluding lighting, appliances and landscaping) for what we would call Mexican contemporary, meaning some stone and wood touches, but cleaner, less ornamental and less decorative. However, you can easily spend upwards of $140 USD per square foot and beyond.

 

Local factors that increase the price range from the amount and detail of decorative carved stone, wrought iron, stone flooring, window and door fabrication, heating elements, landscaping, and amenities (like a swimming pool or outdoor hot tub, which add cost but are not part of the construction figure). Other big variables are the type of light fixtures (whether foreign imported or custom-crafted here), plumbing fixtures, and especially appliances (Viking is so popular here, they have a distributor but of course cost substantially more than, say, a Mabe brand stove).

 

Architects in Mexico generally also serve the role of a general contractor and so can sometimes—but not always—help control the cost factor.  Be sure to get more than one recommendation for a builder, and always use an attorney to draft a construction contract.  Your Realtor can always point you in the right direction!