Cost of building new in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bought an excellent $2M very nice 6500 SF house from a well regarded builder at the edge of Arlington. He had to pay $800k for a house which he tore down. So I am guessing he could build that for $1.2M.

What year?

Not PP but if you look at new home listings in Arlington there are lots of examples like this. In south Arlington it’s pretty common to see land acquired for $700-$800k and the new build to cost $1.7 or 1.8. Land cost in north Arlington is now hovering a $850k-$900k with prices starting at $2.0.

Y’all are forgetting builder profit. You can’t really get a new build for $2m in a nice part of Arlignton anymore, but let’s say you could, the builder would be making about $300k on that.

[Anonymous]

Are you asking for a friend with a cleared lot on a bike trail and near a soccer field?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've built twice in Arlington with the same guy. He's great. We pay a fixed fee + actual cost. Everyone else we talked to adds like 30% on top of actual costs, so it makes a big difference if you can get a builder that does not charge that. Plus we trust him and he's a good guy in general.

So - who is this great guy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've built twice in Arlington with the same guy. He's great. We pay a fixed fee + actual cost. Everyone else we talked to adds like 30% on top of actual costs, so it makes a big difference if you can get a builder that does not charge that. Plus we trust him and he's a good guy in general.

So - who is this great guy?

He's a small guy who does only a few projects a year so I am not sure if he would want his name in a forum like this or not. I can ask him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have tried to price out new builds but with lot acquisition, carrying costs, materials, and builder fee, we can’t seem to build any equity beyond what a new build costs which is in the $2.2-2.4. Lot is in the $900-1MM and building is about 1.2-1.4MM and up. So unless you have to want something specific in a new build, it wasn’t worth it to wait the 18 months for a new home.

I've not built from scratch, just did major renovations and in no way would I ever do it again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bought an excellent $2M very nice 6500 SF house from a well regarded builder at the edge of Arlington. He had to pay $800k for a house which he tore down. So I am guessing he could build that for $1.2M.

What year?

2022 so you would probably add at least 100-150k to compare to today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are good custom builders who will build for their cost +30%, and you can build a home for $1M, but it definitely won’t look like a $2M home. If you want your home to look like a $2M home, you are going to have to spend upwards of $1.2-1.3M for 5000 sq feet.

If you use one of the premier builders in the area, expect to pay another 20% reputation premium.

Would you be able to drop some names? Initials?

Whitestone

Sagatov

John Joy

John Sloan

Great Jones

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^ I've heard of a couple of these builders, and I think they might laugh at you if you asked them to build a home for $1 million plus the cost of the land (which was the original question).

Meant to +1 this one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Building on a lot you already own could very well be under $1M.

Garages with an apartment studio above are like $500k so under $1m is a stretch. Maybe if you are your own GC.

[Anonymous]

When I factored in the cost of temporarily renting a home to live in during a new build, I discovered I would spend less to sell my home and then buy a newly built home (but a home well-priced, sitting on the market for a bit).

But I didn't really like my lot so a no brainer

[Anonymous]

Any updated info for 2025 on this question?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any updated info for 2025 on this question?

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are good custom builders who will build for their cost +30%, and you can build a home for $1M, but it definitely won’t look like a $2M home. If you want your home to look like a $2M home, you are going to have to spend upwards of $1.2-1.3M for 5000 sq feet.

If you use one of the premier builders in the area, expect to pay another 20% reputation premium.

Would you be able to drop some names? Initials?

Whitestone

Sagatov

John Joy

John Sloan

Great Jones

Owner of Great Jones is retired. John Joy is out of business

[Anonymous]

Could try these threads, from 2023 and 2024:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1150870.page


https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/150/1176568.page#28881286

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We tore down our old house in Arlington and had a very good Arlington builder build a new house on the lot. We did not go overboard, but our costs are close to $1.6 M. Our lot was probably worth about $900K, so the "out price" of about $2.5 M is line with spec new construction houses in our neighborhood.

Wow! I’m shocked prices have gone up so much for new builds. Thanks for sharing.

Builders needed to make a killing to get through these lean years. They make a huge profit. It probably costs them closer to $200/ft for a 6000 sq foot house. When we bought in 2009, it cost our builder a bit over $100/foot.