Well when you build on raw land you gotta pay for the driveway, the electrical, the water, the septic or sewer. About $25-$30k on top of the price of the home itself, so there is another $12/sq ft just to get an occupancy permit on a 2500 sq ft home. Then people that do tear downs that already have those services are probably looking at a higher finish to begin with. Most people will also go outside their allowances from the jump when they are looking at the driveway finish and the landscaping. Hell, just for our recent barn, it was an extra $12k for water (Delco is $5k just to tap) and electric
I know, my family was in the building business for 55 years.
Yeah, but that isn't apples to apples. You call up Carlo Silvestri and his material costs and skilled labor costs are going to be lower then 99.9% of self builds.