One of the most common questions we hear from buyers—especially early in the process—is: “What’s your price per square foot?”
In Oklahoma, homes are typically marketed, appraised, and compared based on veneer square footage, not conditioned square footage. While this system provides consistency for valuation and lending, it often creates confusion when buyers compare custom or semi-custom homes to online averages or production housing.
Understanding what veneer square footage is — and, just as importantly, what it does not capture helps explain why not all homes of the same “size” cost the same.
What Is Veneer Square Footage?
Veneer square footage refers to the total footprint of the home measured to the exterior face of the veneer—brick, stone, siding, or stucco. In simple terms, it reflects the overall size of the structure as it sits on the lot.
Veneer square footage typically includes:
- Conditioned living space
- Wall thickness and exterior assemblies
It does not break out:
- Garages versus living space
- Porches, patios, or outdoor living areas separately
- Structural or architectural complexity
Veneer square footage is a measurement tool, not a pricing formula.
Why Oklahoma Uses Veneer Square Footage
The primary reason veneer square footage is used in Oklahoma is appraisal consistency.
Appraisers need a standardized method to compare homes that:
- Accounts for overall building mass
- Is applied consistently across properties
- Can be verified visually and dimensionally
Veneer square footage provides a defensible baseline that allows appraisers to compare similar homes, even when floor plans and layouts differ,without dissecting every design decision. This supports lender underwriting, resale analysis, and secondary market requirements. It is not intended to describe build cost in detail.
Is This Done the Same Way in Other Housing Markets?
The concept is similar across much of the country, although terminology and emphasis vary.
Some markets place more weight on:
- Conditioned square footage
- Outdoor living adjustments
- Architectural detail or design premiums
Even so, most appraisal systems still rely on an external measurement standard because it provides consistency, even if it lacks nuance.
Where Veneer Square Footage Falls Short
Veneer square footage works well for comparison, but poorly as a pricing shortcut.
Two homes with identical veneer square footage can differ materially in cost due to factors the measurement does not capture. Oversized porches and outdoor living areas, expanded garages, higher ceilings, and complex rooflines all increase construction cost without changing measured square footage.
This is where buyer expectations often disconnect from reality.
What Veneer Square Footage Does Not Reflect
Veneer square footage is a useful comparison tool, but it does not account for where money is actually spent inside the home. Two homes with the same veneer square footage can have dramatically different construction costs based on how that space is used and finished.
1. Oversized Porches and Outdoor Living
Large covered patios, wraparound porches, outdoor kitchens, and extended concrete flatwork add meaningful cost but are often mentally “averaged” into square-foot pricing by buyers—even though they are not valued the same way in appraisals.
2. Garage Size and Configuration
An oversized three-car garage, extended-depth bays, storage areas, or workshop space materially increase framing, concrete, and roofing costs. Veneer square footage alone does not explain these differences.
3. Wet Areas: Kitchens, Bathrooms, and Laundry Spaces
Wet areas are among the most expensive spaces to build per square foot. Kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms, and wet bars concentrate multiple high-cost trades into small areas, including plumbing, electrical, cabinetry, tile, countertops, and specialty fixtures.
A home with multiple bathrooms, a large primary suite, or an expanded kitchen footprint will cost significantly more than a home with the same veneer square footage but fewer or simpler wet areas.
4. Cabinetry and Built-Ins
Cabinet costs are driven by linear footage, height, configuration, and customization—not veneer size. Tall cabinets, custom storage, walk-in pantries, mudrooms, built-ins, and furniture-style details can substantially increase cost without changing square footage at all.
5. Ceiling Heights and Structural Design
Higher ceilings, vaulted spaces, beams, and complex rooflines increase framing labor, material usage, and structural engineering requirements. Two homes with identical veneer square footage can differ greatly in cost based on vertical volume and architectural complexity.
6. Finishes and Material Selections
Finish selections can dramatically affect cost within the same footprint. Flooring, tile, countertops, plumbing fixtures, lighting, trim detail, and hardware vary widely in price. Two homes with identical veneer square footage and layout can differ substantially in cost simply based on finish level.
7. Foundations and Site Conditions
Post-tension foundations, engineered solutions, soil conditions, grading, and site preparation can vary significantly, even between neighboring lots. These costs are real, but invisible in square-foot comparisons.
8. Energy Efficiency Features
Enhanced insulation assemblies, tighter building envelopes, upgraded HVAC systems, advanced windows, and the third-party testing required to achieve lower HERS ratings or ENERGY STAR certification add measurable construction cost but are not directly reflected in veneer square footage. From an appraisal standpoint, these features contribute to performance, operating efficiency, and market appeal, even though they do not increase the home’s reported size.
Why Production Homes Look Cheaper Per Square Foot
Production builders optimize for repeatability:
- Standardized plans
- Minimal variation
- Controlled material selections
- Simplified structural design
Because of this, their price-per-square-foot numbers often appear lower online. That does not make them directly comparable to a custom or semi-custom home with oversized spaces, architectural upgrades, higher-performance construction, or enhanced energy efficiency.
Why Custom Quotes Often Come in Higher Than Expected
When buyers expect pricing based on an online square-foot average, that number typically assumes:
- Standard porches
- Standard garages
- Standard ceiling heights
- Standard cabinetry and finish allowances
When a design includes oversized outdoor living, expanded garages, higher ceilings, additional wet areas, upgraded finishes, or energy-efficiency targets, cost increases - regardless of veneer square footage.
That difference is not inefficiency. It is customization.
Not All Homes Are Created Equal
Veneer square footage provides a useful comparison tool but, it is not a complete picture of cost or value.
Two homes of the same veneer size can differ substantially in:
- Materials
- Labor intensity and experience
- Structural complexity
- Energy performance
- Long-term livability
A home is not just how big it is—it’s how it’s built.
What Buyers Should Take Away
- Veneer square footage exists to support consistent valuation, not pricing formulas
- Online price-per-square-foot averages often reflect production assumptions
- Oversized porches, garages, cabinetry, wet areas, ceiling heights, and finishes materially affect cost
- Energy-efficient construction and verified performance add value but are not size-based
- Customization changes the math—and that’s expected
Understanding how homes are measured leads to more realistic expectations and better decisions.
Our Approach at Two Structures Homes
We believe pricing should reflect what is actually being built, not just how large a home is on paper. Square footage provides a reference point, but it does not define quality, performance, or how a home will be lived in.
Rather than relying on a single price-per-square-foot figure, we work with buyers to understand:
- How they plan to live in the home day to day
- Which spaces and features matter most to them
- Where additional investment delivers meaningful, long-term value
- Where simplification or standardization makes sense
Every home is the result of a series of informed decisions—from layout and structure to finishes and performance goals. We believe our homeowners value choice, individuality, and clarity, and our process is designed to support those priorities with transparency and intent.
Common Questions Buyers Ask
Does a lower HERS rating increase a home’s appraised value?
Not directly or dollar-for-dollar. Appraisals are based on comparable sales, and many markets—including Oklahoma—still lack enough verified, high-performance homes to isolate a specific value adjustment for HERS scores alone. However, lower HERS ratings and ENERGY STAR certification can contribute to marketability, buyer preference, comfort, and operating cost efficiency. From an appraisal standpoint, these features may support stronger overall value conclusions when paired with comparable homes of similar quality and performance.
Why don’t appraisals reflect the full cost of certain construction choices?
Appraisals measure market value, not construction cost. Many decisions that materially increase build cost are not captured dollar-for-dollar unless there is sufficient comparable sales data to support adjustments. These include energy-efficiency investments such as enhanced insulation, tighter building envelopes, upgraded HVAC systems, advanced windows, and independent third-party testing—but they also include design and construction choices unrelated to energy performance.
Oversized porches and outdoor living areas, expanded or specialized garages, higher ceiling heights, complex rooflines, additional wet areas (kitchens, bathrooms, laundry rooms), custom cabinetry, finish selections, foundation design, and site conditions can all significantly increase construction cost. While these features improve livability, durability, performance, and long-term satisfaction, their contributory value in an appraisal depends on how frequently similar features appear in recent comparable sales.
As market data evolves, appraisals can better reflect these differences. Until then, appraisals rely on observable buyer behavior—not build cost alone.
How are HERS ratings and ENERGY STAR certifications verified?
HERS ratings and ENERGY STAR certifications are based on independent, third-party verification, not builder estimates. This process typically includes energy modeling, on-site inspections, diagnostic testing, and documentation completed by certified raters. These verifications confirm how a home performs, even though performance metrics are not directly tied to square footage measurements.
Why do two homes of the same square footage perform and cost so differently?
Square footage measures size—not complexity, finish level, or performance. Air sealing quality, insulation assemblies, HVAC design, duct layout, structural execution, number of wet areas, ceiling heights, cabinetry scope, material selections, and site conditions all influence how a home is built, how it operates, and what it costs to construct. Two homes with identical veneer square footage can have materially different comfort levels, energy use, durability, and long-term operating costs.