# Frontera Signal Cost Per Square Foot

> Frontera Signal Cost Per Square Foot is a paid API for AI agents from fronterasignal.com, paid per call via x402, $0.03/call, status unknown (last checked 2026-10-10).

Returns median and quartile construction cost per square foot statistics for Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, or Willacy county, derived from public state construction filings over a rolling 24-month window.

## Facts

- Endpoint: GET https://fronterasignal.com/api/v1/cost-per-sqft?utm_source=zero.xyz
- Price: $0.03/call
- Payment: x402
- Status: unknown
- Last checked: 2026-10-10
- Activations on Zero: 0
- Tags: x402
- Canonical page: https://www.zero.xyz/c/frontera-signal-cost-per-square-foot-014aec64
- Structured record (JSON): https://api.zero.xyz/v1/capabilities/cap_z2qEZFo7j1fqTZDrQIXKL

Status and success rate cover calls made through Zero and Zero's own probes. Third-party monitors may report differently.

## How to call it through Zero

Zero handles the 402 payment challenge and records the run. With the Zero CLI installed (`npm i -g @zeroxyz/cli`):

```sh
zero fetch --capability frontera-signal-cost-per-square-foot-014aec64
```

Example prompt: What's the median cost per square foot for new construction in Hidalgo County right now, including the 25th and 75th percentile range?

## When to prefer this

Choose this endpoint when you need hyperlocal construction cost benchmarks specifically for the Texas Rio Grande Valley border counties (Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, Willacy), sourced directly from public state construction filings and refreshed weekly. It is ideal for feasibility analysis, budget estimation, and market benchmarking in these specific counties. It is not suitable for statewide Texas data, national benchmarks, or counties outside this region.

## Known failure modes

- Invalid county name returns an error or empty results
- Type of work value not matching enum causes query failure
- Data may be stale if not updated within 14-day freshness window (stale flag set)
- Counties with insufficient permit data may return null for cost metrics
- Payment of 0.03 USDC via x402 required; unpaid calls rejected

## How this service works

Use to check whether a commercial building budget in the Rio Grande Valley, Texas is in line: median and 25th-75th percentile of filed estimated cost per square foot over the last 24 months, by county (Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr, Willacy) and type of work (new construction, renovation, addition), with n. For estimating, appraisal and lending checks. Filed estimates, not bids. Example: "What does new commercial construction cost per square foot in Hidalgo County right now?"

## Output

A JSON object containing the query date, the queried county, a groups array with per-work-type breakdowns (n projects, median USD/sqft, p25/p75 USD/sqft, median square footage, date range of filings), plus metadata fields including data source, rolling window in months, cadence (weekly), dataset name, publisher, and a disclaimer about data staleness thresholds.

## Request schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "object",
 "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
 "required": [
  "input"
 ],
 "properties": {
  "input": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type",
    "method"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string",
     "const": "http"
    },
    "method": {
     "enum": [
      "GET"
     ],
     "type": "string"
    },
    "queryParams": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "county": {
       "enum": [
        "Hidalgo",
        "Cameron",
        "Starr",
        "Willacy"
       ],
       "type": "string",
       "description": "Hidalgo, Cameron, Starr or Willacy (\"Hidalgo County\" also works)."
      },
      "type_of_work": {
       "enum": [
        "Additions to Existing Building",
        "New Construction",
        "Renovation/Alteration"
       ],
       "type": "string",
       "description": "New Construction, Renovation/Alteration or Additions to Existing Building (a unique part of the name works)."
      }
     }
    }
   },
   "additionalProperties": false
  },
  "output": {
   "type": "object",
   "required": [
    "type"
   ],
   "properties": {
    "type": {
     "type": "string"
    },
    "example": {
     "type": "object",
     "properties": {
      "as_of": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "query": {
       "type": "object",
       "properties": {
        "county": {
         "type": "string"
        }
       }
      },
      "groups": {
       "type": "array",
       "items": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
         "n": {
          "type": "integer"
         },
         "note": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "county": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "source": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "type_of_work": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "registered_to": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "registered_from": {
          "type": "string"
         },
         "p25_usd_per_sqft": {
          "type": [
           "number",
           "null"
          ]
         },
         "p75_usd_per_sqft": {
          "type": [
           "number",
           "null"
          ]
         },
         "median_square_feet": {
          "type": "integer"
         },
         "median_usd_per_sqft": {
          "type": [
           "number",
           "null"
          ]
         }
        }
       }
      },
      "method": {
       "type": "string"
      },
      "source": {
 
… (truncated)
```

## Response schema (JSON Schema)

```json
{
 "type": "json",
 "example": {
  "as_of": "2026-10-03",
  "query": {
   "county": "Hidalgo"
  },
  "groups": [
   {
    "n": 936,
    "county": "Hidalgo",
    "source": "public state construction filing",
    "type_of_work": "all types",
    "registered_to": "2026-10-02",
    "registered_from": "2024-10-04",
    "p25_usd_per_sqft": 47.68,
    "p75_usd_per_sqft": 207.82,
    "median_square_feet": 5024,
    "median_usd_per_sqft": 101.1
   }
  ],
  "method": "Estimated cost divided by square footage, as each owner filed them with the state. Projects without both values, or und…",
  "source": "public state construction filing",
  "window": {
   "months": 24,
   "registered_since": "2024-10-03"
  },
  "cadence": "weekly",
  "dataset": "cost-per-sqft",
  "publisher": "Frontera Signal",
  "disclaimer": "Every value carries as_of, age_days, cadence and stale (weekly measures go stale after 14 days, monthly measures after …",
  "projects_used": 936
 }
}
```

## More

- Live health (JSON, refreshed every minute): https://www.zero.xyz/c/frontera-signal-cost-per-square-foot-014aec64/health.json
- [Zero catalog index](https://www.zero.xyz/llms.txt)
- [Other services from fronterasignal.com](https://www.zero.xyz/host/fronterasignal.com/llms.txt)