The only price I could find on-line was at Lowes and the material alone is $128/square. This is for a 8.25" x 144" piece which gets overlapped by 1.25" resulting in each piece covering 7 square feet. At a cost of $8.98, this calculates to be $1.28 a square foot. Added to the siding cost is the cost of trim around windows, doors and corners. You want to use some sort of composite or vinyl and that can get expensive. Throw in installation and $300/square is not unreasonable.

All this being said, Hardieplank is great stuff. The first walls that I did 15 years ago have never needed to be repainted. The initial painting is also easy. They also sell the product in pre-painted varieties. The stuff is mostly indestructible (unlike vinyl).

I have probably installed 2,000 square feet between my previous house and a lake house. It is easy to install by yourself; you can buy clamps that temporarily hold each board in place. It is also a project that you can do in dribs and drabs. I would come home from work each night and work on the siding for a couple of hours. You do need a power miter saw, a special blade and a respirator.

If you plan on having a property for a long time, I would definitely recommend Hardieplank. It will, in the long run, save you money. Much like a composite deck versus a wood deck. If the property is being sold in the short run, I don't think most buyers appreciate what it adds to the house so it would not be a good idea.