re: Anyone heard of current building rates?

So a quick look at Realtor.com in Baton Rouge for 3/2s indicates several hundred homes for sale in the 1600-3500 square foot range for somwhere between $1.50 and $1.80 a square foot. I have no idea what the neighborhood is like but keep in mind that includes whatever landscaping there is, the actual dirt, utilities etc.


Of course the same builders will quote somewhere between $2-$3 a foot for those same houses minus the actual dirt it is built on LOL. Again, I can't speculate as to how this is but I know if for the truth, at least in my experience. It leads one to wonder if it is not better simply to buy one of their spec houses instead of the same house at double the price???