Per square foot in residential real estate
Per square foot is used a little differently in residential real estate than in commercial real estate. Homes are rarely expressed in prices per square foot -- instead, the whole property is priced as one, whether it's a lease or a purchase. It's $1,500 per month to rent an apartment or $300,000 to buy a house.
However, there are places where this metric comes into play, primarily in the world of construction. If you're considering building a new custom home, for example, you may be initially given base pricing based on a per-square-foot calculation. This house will cost approximately $250 per square foot to build, unless you use different materials than those specified, for example.
Another place this could be seen is in having remodeling or repairs made. A major remodel or repair can be a big deal, and rather than being priced by the item, the extensive nature may lend itself to a per-square-foot calculation. So, to repair your home after a kitchen fire could be $120 per square foot, in a hypothetical example, assuming the same materials are used in the repair.