
Ready to have your mind blown It costs over $100,000 on average to build a single family home in California just in fees This isn’t building, labor, or materials, this is just bureaucracy - Pure building permit + plan review fees for a new single-family home are often in the $20,000 - $40,000 range - Total “soft costs,” meaning permits + impact fees, school fees, utility connections, environmental reviews, traffic mitigation, parks, etc often reach $100,000+ in major cities and counties - One home in Fremont cost $160,000 just in government fees before any building started Contrast this with Texas Texas base building permits for a new single-family home are typically $1,000–$3,000. Impact and development fees average under $1,000 per unit San Francisco planned on spending $1.7 million to build a public toilet, after extreme backlash online they were able to build it for around $200,000 and it’s now open







