I am thinking of putting an addition on to my house. In a perfect world the software I use to lay everything out could be passed on to an Architect so he is not starting from scratch. I do not have an architect yet as I am still at least 12 months from starting. However, I want to work on the design over the next few months.

Back in 2005 or so I used Punch PRO! for some interior design at my last house. I know an architect would use something way better than Punch PRO!

Any ideas or recommendations for common residential software? I am willing to pay a few hundred dollars for software.

You might could get the pro version of sketchup. I don't know it's capability because we don't really use it except for basic massing and visualization.

If you're willing to spend some money you might can get a version of AutoCAD. It is packaged these days, in a subscription format only from Autodesk, so I don't know how you go about buying it but it might be possible.

Sketchup ought to get you close enough.

It's not like they'll work from your source files.

They're really just visual notes.

Make lots of annotations and draw it in most anything...

Are you by chance a student or a teacher?

I believe students and teachers have educational access to a number of programs from Autodesk. Revit is what my daughter uses professionally (she's not a licensed architect yet). That might have a bit of a learning curve...

I do agree with 46and2 though - they'll most likely use your drawings for reference, not the source.

You won't get any better than Chief Architect Software .
They all kinds of versions all the way up to and including something for the Pros.
I use the Home Designer Architectural 2021 and it is all I can handle and more.
Their site is fantastic, good training and examples.
Only like any really good software there is some learning curve as this is a sophisticated software.
Good Luck.

I sketch stuff to get my architect started using -gasp - PowerPoint.

Now, for someone who is themselves a good designer/architect and who could gin up almost-there drawings on their own, and just wants someone to do a sanity-check and wrap up the details, would PowerPoint work? Absolutely not. But it's logical for how I personally interact with my architects:

• First, I already own Powerpoint, and know it well - zero costs to buy, maintain, or learn
  
• It's trivial for me to use it to convey what I'm looking for - can include text boxes, attach pictures, etc. where they can help explain ideas. Doesn't matter if the 'slide' looks like crap, if it gets the point across.
  
• It keeps me from trying to micro-manage someone with far more sense than I have when it comes to the aesthetics, layouts, and details of buildings (i.e., a lot of what I'm paying the architect for)
  

Maybe the best part is number 3, in my case. As Mark Twain would say, "We are all ignorant, just on different subjects," and boy am I not good with house construction details or architectural aesthetics/design. I really don't want to jog the elbow of someone capable of great work with the kind of stuff I'd put together.

We use floor planner.com to layout ice cream store designs, plant floor designs, etc.

I found the old version easier to use, but the new version probably works.

It will produce a scaled drawing, which an architect/engineer can find helpful.

I use the free online version of sketchup. It's simple, but effective to get your ideas across to others. I did this drawing for when I add a boat house to my dock so the engineer has an idea of what I want.

Dock by kdr, on Flickr