Albuquerque, New Mexico
A beautiful second home,
in the backyard you already own.
The city drew four casita plans and gives them away. Pick one of those or the 18 by 30 a local builder already quoted, choose how it gets finished, answer a few questions about your lot, and get a reasonable cost estimate before you talk to a single contractor.
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The short version
Almost nobody knows the plans are free.
The city rewrote its casita rules to add thousands of units, then published free pre-approved plans so the drawings and the structural review would stop being the bottleneck. Only a few dozen permits have actually been pulled since.
The plans are done and the rules are public. The part nobody publishes is what it costs on your lot. That's what this page is for.
The plans
Five plans, two roofs.
Four of these match a City of Albuquerque pre-approved plan, which is what keeps the drawings free and the review short. Tijeras is the exception: a custom 18 by 30, and the only one here the June 2026 quote was written against. Prices shown are a starting point on an easy lot with standard finishes.
Turnkey
What the base price actually covers.
This is the line-item scope from the Albuquerque quote the estimator runs on, copied over the way the builder wrote it.
- Footings and monolithic slab
- 2×6 wood framing at 16" on center
- Front porch framing and railing
- Roofing and drainage
- Stucco, three coat
- Windows and exterior doors
- Insulation, R-21 walls and R-38 roof
- Two mini-split heads for heat and cooling
- Full electrical rough-in and finish
- Full plumbing rough-in and finish
- Drywall, tape, and texture
- Interior doors and trim
- Paint throughout
- Kitchen cabinets and quartz counters
- Laminate plank flooring
- Bathroom: toilet, tub, vanity, sink, mirror, towel bars
- Washer and dryer
- Kitchen appliance package
- Light fixtures
Permits, the site plan, the grading and drainage plan, utility connections, and whatever your lot throws at the crew get priced separately in the estimator, and those are the lines that move.
How it works
Permit to keys.
Using a pre-approved plan skips the structural review that eats most of a normal permit window. The rest of the schedule is ordinary construction.
Before you get attached
What the city requires.
Check these against your parcel first. The zone and the rear-wall rule are the two that stop projects cold.
Albuquerque Planning is at 505-924-3860, or dial 311. The zone lookup map is on the city site.
Questions
What people ask.
Is the estimate a quote?
No. It's a model. The per-square-foot rate comes from a real June 2026 Albuquerque contractor quote, and the site lines come from what those things normally run here, but nobody has walked your lot. Until you answer the five lot questions it assumes no site work at all, which almost certainly isn't your yard. Answer them, then treat the band as the range a real bid should land in.
Why is the range so wide at the bottom?
Mostly trenching. Two identical casitas, one twenty feet from the panel and one ninety feet away across a mature yard, are not the same project. That one question moves the price more than any finish upgrade.
Can I build one on my lot?
If you're zoned R-A, R-1, R-T, or R-ML, probably. It has to sit behind the rear wall of the main house, keep five feet off the side and rear lines, stay under the height of your house, and leave one off-street parking space. Look up your parcel on the city zone map before anything else.
Can I rent it out?
That's why most people build one. Long-term rental is the straightforward case. Short-term rental is governed by a separate set of city rules, so check those before you count on nightly income.
What's not in the number?
Financing costs, furniture, anything you do to the main house, HOA review if you have one, and impact fees beyond the standard utility connections. Solar is priced before any tax credit.
What happens when I reserve?
Nothing financial. Reserving saves your build and your contact details and gives you a code, so the conversation starts from the exact configuration you priced instead of from scratch. No card, and no obligation on either side.
Start with the size.
A couple of minutes gets you a number you can take to a lender or a builder.