Why I Ignore "Price Per Square Foot"

Bear with me here, I know this one is a bit of a hot take, but hear me out and hopefully it will make sense to you:

Many times you'll hear people talk about price/sq.ft. when comparing different homes. It's very easy to explain why I pay zero attention to this.

Hypotheticals

Let's just assume 2 hypothetical homes. Both are identical in every way other than one has an extra 100 sq.ft in the living area. The one with the smaller footprint is going to have a higher price/sq.ft. value

Similarly, let's assume 2 hypothetical homes, both identical with the same square footage, except one has a second story and stairs. The single story home is going to have a higher price/sq.ft. value.

If the two homes are the same square footage and both are single story...just use the price.

The vast majority of expense and value is in "a home". That is, permitting, running utilities, platting, bringing in construction materials and equipment, etc., all things that are required even if you were to build a 100 sq. ft. home. Once all of those are in, the costs of adding an extra 100 sq. ft. is very nominal.

This is also the same reason constructing a 2BR home is almost never a good idea. Almost every home purchaser wants at least 3 bedrooms, even if you don't. Adding a 3rd bedroom costs pennies by comparison but makes it a viable option for families.

It's simply a bad metric to use to compare homes.