" wrote:

It's not *that* expensive, at least if it's not a "starter house". The lower
end stuff can be had for $40/ft^2, or so, installed. Even some of them come
with granite, now.

Agreed. Granite has followed the classic pricing curve. It remains expensive to
transport because of its weight, but has gone from something that required hand
cutting and polishing, to something that is essentially mass produced.

They also started out much thicker than standard thicknesses today, which
required reinforced cabinetry and added to transport costs. Today 3cm tops can
go on standard cabinets and some builders are using 2cm.