In coastal construction, time can be your biggest expense.
Every extra month a home sits unfinished and adds real costs in loan interest, insurance, rent, and missed opportunities. At Seasafe Homes, our homes are commonly built in six months, compared to the 18–24 months that most traditional coastal home builders take.
How the Cost of Time Impacts Different Buyers
That faster timeline doesn’t just save time, it saves money and reduces stress. Let’s take a look at two common scenarios. First is a real-life scenario where a family is rebuilding their home after suffering from storm damage. They are building their personal home, and while waiting for the new home to be completed, are renting a nearby home just big enough to accommodate their temporary needs.
The second scenario walks through the investor journey. A couple invests in short-term rentals, which provides them with their income while also affording an annual beach vacation. The longer the construction takes, the more opportunity costs of lost rental potential and carrying costs during construction add up. These are real costs caused by a time variable that need to be factored into the investment strategy.
What a Year of Waiting Really Costs
|
Buyer Type |
Extra Cost Over 12 Months |
Main Causes |
| Homeowner | ≈ $150,000 | Rent, loan interest, insurance, taxes, inflation |
| Investor | ≈ $265,000 | Lost rent, interest, insurance, taxes, inflation |
Case Study 1 – Homeowners Personal Home – Paying for Two Homes at the Same Time
When Mark and Lisa decided to rebuild their coastal home, they knew two things, they wanted it to be elevated in case of flooding, and they didn’t want to wait years for their new home to be built.
Their old house had just been torn down after a hurricane storm suCost of Waitingrge caused flood damage, and they were eager to start fresh. The vision for their new home was a four-bedroom, three-bath elevated home on the same lot. The home had to have an open floor plan with covered decks where their family could gather, relax, and enjoy life near the water. Adding personalized touches was important to give their home a coastal look and feel, making the home their own.
They met with several builders and focused on price per square foot building costs. Each offered a different plan, price, and process. Prices of finish materials like quartz countertops and tall kitchen cabinets were factored into the build cost in different ways, but ultimately were consistent across the various builders. Mark and Lisa realized they had some control over the price per square foot. The higher quality finishes made the overall price per square foot go up, while less expensive materials and finishes showed the price to go down. But the more they compared, the clearer it became: the longer the build time, the higher the real cost. A home built in a shorter period of time had much less risk of exceeding its budget and had a lower cost!
With a total construction cost of $925,000, they were putting 20% down and financing the rest. Every extra month of construction meant more loan interest, more insurance, and more rent, money that didn’t go toward building their home.
That’s when they found Seasafe Homes, and the difference was immediate. A faster, more predictable build process. No weather delays. No endless waiting. Just a clear plan to move from demo to done in about six months.
Homeowners – The Real Cost of Waiting
When the $925,000 projects drag on, the numbers add up fast:
- Loan interest: A construction loan of $740,000 at 7.5% costs about $4,625 a month in interest.
- Insurance and taxes: Another $1,100+ a month in builder’s risk insurance and property taxes.
- Inflation: Construction costs rise around 4–5% per year, which means additional construction time of one year or more can potentially add $43,500 to the price.
- Rent: Homeowners who are waiting to move in often spend $3,000 a month or more renting another place.
When you look at the full picture, a 12-month delay can cost a homeowner around $150,000.
For Homeowners
Coastal home construction taking 18–24 months means:
- Paying rent and loan interest at the same time for a longer period of time.
- Watching costs rise while your home is still on paper.
- Missing out on the reason you wanted to live by the coast in the first place.
Seasafe’s six-month build cycle helps you move in faster, avoid double payments, and start enjoying life in your new home sooner.
“We build in months, not years — because your time matters.”
Case Study 2 – Investors – Time Cost is Very Real and Expensive
David and Claire were facing the new construction decision, but from an investor’s point of view.
They own several short-term rentals along the Gulf Coast and wanted to add another property to their portfolio, one they could also use as a personal getaway each year. Their plan was simple:
- Rent the home most of the year as part of their business model and income.
- Block one week each summer for their own family vacation.
Using the same $925,000 construction budget and 20% down payment as above, but these investors focused on a combination of price per square foot and the time to build. The investment success relied on answering the question, how long until they could start booking rentals and generating income.
For David and Claire, an 18- to 24-month building timeline wasn’t acceptable. They needed the property to earn money as soon as possible to make the investment work. A traditional 18-month coastal build meant an extra year of waiting and costs, roughly $160,000 in lost potential rental income, not counting interest, taxes, or insurance.
Seasafe’s 6-month timeline made it possible to start renting by the next high season. That’s a full year sooner, turning lost time into profit and giving them the chance to enjoy their own week at the beach much earlier than expected.
Investors – The Real Cost of Waiting
When the $925,000 projects drag on, the holding costs add up fast:
- Loan interest: A construction loan of $740,000 at 7.5% costs about $4,625 a month in interest.
- Insurance and taxes: Another $1,100+ a month in builder’s risk insurance and property taxes.
- Inflation: Construction costs rise around 4–5% per year, which means additional construction time of one year or more can potentially add $43,500 to the price.
- Lost income: Investors who plan to rent the home can lose about $13,000 a month in rental income if construction runs long.
When you look at the full picture, a 12-month delay can cost a homeowner around $150,000 while it can cost an investor more than $265,000.
Why Seasafe Builds Faster
At Seasafe, we’ve designed a proprietary two site building system along with state approved models that minimize building and design time without cutting quality or compromising style:
- Two things happen at once: We prepare the site while your home is built offsite.
- Built indoors: Homes are constructed in a climate-controlled warehouse environment, not left open to storms or delays.
- Simplified design choices: Our state-approved coastal models reduce thousands of small decisions into a focused set of curated, coastal options that help owners create the coastal lifestyle they desire.
- Quick assembly: Once delivered, the home is installed and finished on-site in weeks, not years.
The result: predictable timelines, less stress, and more value for your money.
Battery Point: The Home Behind the Numbers
To give context to these comparisons, let’s look at the actual Seasafe home model used in our calculations.
The Battery Point Model is one of Seasafe’s most popular coastal home models: a four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath floor plan that blends indoor and outdoor coastal living.
With 1,824 square feet of conditioned space and nearly 800 square feet of covered porches, the Battery Point offers the ideal coastal balance between functional interior layout and outdoor relaxation space.
When you factor in how time impacts cost, the difference becomes clear:
|
Scenario |
Total Cost | Cost per Conditioned Sq. Ft. |
| Original Construction Price | $925,000 | $507/sq. ft. |
| Including Time Cost for Homeowner | $1,075,000 | $580/sq. ft. |
| Including Time Cost for Investor | $1,190,000 | $652/sq. ft. |
These examples show how longer construction times quickly raise the true cost of a home, not only in added expenses, but also in lost time and opportunity to enjoy or earn from the property.
Build Smarter. Live Sooner.
In coastal construction, time can be the most expensive material of all.
At Seasafe Homes, our six-month coastal build process reduces the delays, impact of material and labor cost inflation, and overall build timeline uncertainty. Whether you’re building your forever home or your next rental property, we help you save money, reduce risk, and enjoy your new home faster.
Ready to get started? Visit seasafehomes.com or call us.
Note: Figures are based on 2025 data and reflect average market conditions in Pinellas County, Florida. These case studies are provided for educational purposes only and should not be considered guarantees or offers. Actual interest rates, taxes, insurance, and construction costs may vary over time.
Also read: Seasafe Homes A beginner’s guide