Home builders in Arlington

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw this BCN house recently which was very basic and unimpressive for a new build. I would not consider them top end. This particular house seems low to middle end compared to other new construction in Arlington.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1821-N-Jackson-St-Arlington-VA-22201/12078261_zpid/

Isn't $2.2 million basically at the low end for North Arlington new builds right now? Seems like "low end" is what you get if you're looking in that price range in North Arlington. Or was there something structurally wrong with the house?

I agree, that pricing seems low, especially given its in Lyon village.

This house is also just under 4400 SF. Many of the BCN homes in Lyon Village are over 5000 SF. So it’s a small house (for BCN) on an unremarkable street. And it’s not too far from 66. I suspect all 3 of those things are the issue. People will pay for the walkability of LV but this house isn’t particularly near the “nice” stuff, plus it’s small.

It's also down the hill and on the fringe of the neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I saw this BCN house recently which was very basic and unimpressive for a new build. I would not consider them top end. This particular house seems low to middle end compared to other new construction in Arlington.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1821-N-Jackson-St-Arlington-VA-22201/12078261_zpid/

Isn't $2.2 million basically at the low end for North Arlington new builds right now? Seems like "low end" is what you get if you're looking in that price range in North Arlington. Or was there something structurally wrong with the house?

I agree, that pricing seems low, especially given its in Lyon village.

The backyard is a hill and there are 19 steps to the front door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village isn't really as desirable as some boosters on this board want folks to believe (most of it is not walkable or interesting in any way), and new/recent builds there are starting to accumulate because everyone knows this. But a new build in 22207 is going for at least $2.25 these days, so at best a house like this in LV is worth $2.0.

A majority of the neighborhood is walkable and it’s more expensive on a square foot basis than any neighborhood in 22207. New builds are not accumulating there- inventory is always low and most things sell off-market, even the new builds. What you see online is just a fraction of the home sales- and I assume this is true for other desirable neighborhoods in Arlington.

You're right, I was thinking of Lyon Park, not Village. My statement is true for LP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village isn't really as desirable as some boosters on this board want folks to believe (most of it is not walkable or interesting in any way), and new/recent builds there are starting to accumulate because everyone knows this. But a new build in 22207 is going for at least $2.25 these days, so at best a house like this in LV is worth $2.0.

A majority of the neighborhood is walkable and it’s more expensive on a square foot basis than any neighborhood in 22207. New builds are not accumulating there- inventory is always low and most things sell off-market, even the new builds. What you see online is just a fraction of the home sales- and I assume this is true for other desirable neighborhoods in Arlington.

You're right, I was thinking of Lyon Park, not Village. My statement is true for LP.

The Jackson St. in Lyon Park is much nicer -- although some of the house to back to Columbia Cemetery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Lyon Village isn't really as desirable as some boosters on this board want folks to believe (most of it is not walkable or interesting in any way), and new/recent builds there are starting to accumulate because everyone knows this. But a new build in 22207 is going for at least $2.25 these days, so at best a house like this in LV is worth $2.0.

A majority of the neighborhood is walkable and it’s more expensive on a square foot basis than any neighborhood in 22207. New builds are not accumulating there- inventory is always low and most things sell off-market, even the new builds. What you see online is just a fraction of the home sales- and I assume this is true for other desirable neighborhoods in Arlington.

You're right, I was thinking of Lyon Park, not Village. My statement is true for LP.

The Jackson St. in Lyon Park is much nicer -- although some of the house to back to Columbia Cemetery.

I don’t live in LP but I have recently driven through there and yes, Jackson St is lovely on that side of Clarendon Blvd. I was surprised to see such a lovely street so close to town and heading towards 50.

[Anonymous]

we just moved into our house (a different mclean builder) and here's my thoughts. typically the houses at or near completion are either overpriced (opportunity) or on a bad lot/location. if you have the time, consider signing the contract earlier to get a more desirable location/lot. you will get more time to customize. the builders do seem to not really put in the full effort with cleanup at the end, this is a bit annoying - but worth not buying the dregs. in mclean, there's a reason all the new builds on westmoreland are still sitting. it's just not as nice to live on the main road as on a side street. then again, having a house to live in is great. there are trade-offs.

i am acquainted with MR homes matt (not our builder). I think he's really great to do business with. he was our second choice builder (has much to do with the lots available!).

if your builder pays out to buyers agents - USE A REALTOR WITH A REBATING PROGRAM! you will save 35k+ on your home purchase vs not using a realtor at all. do not reach out directly to the builders - have the realtor do it. rebating agent/broker does not mean they aren't full service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we just moved into our house (a different mclean builder) and here's my thoughts. typically the houses at or near completion are either overpriced (opportunity) or on a bad lot/location. if you have the time, consider signing the contract earlier to get a more desirable location/lot. you will get more time to customize. the builders do seem to not really put in the full effort with cleanup at the end, this is a bit annoying - but worth not buying the dregs. in mclean, there's a reason all the new builds on westmoreland are still sitting. it's just not as nice to live on the main road as on a side street. then again, having a house to live in is great. there are trade-offs.

i am acquainted with MR homes matt (not our builder). I think he's really great to do business with. he was our second choice builder (has much to do with the lots available!).

if your builder pays out to buyers agents - USE A REALTOR WITH A REBATING PROGRAM! you will save 35k+ on your home purchase vs not using a realtor at all. do not reach out directly to the builders - have the realtor do it. rebating agent/broker does not mean they aren't full service.

Have to agree about using a realtor even if they don't rebate. Our agent is with a mainstream company and showed us many lots and houses before she found out a lot that a builder has just purchased. We ended buying the lot about a year ago and have just moved into the house. It was fairly high end and the agent was extremely helpful with the builder. She defused a number of tense situations with good advice. Even at the final closing, the builder's settlement lawyer made a mistake that would not have cost the builder a little money but a good deal of aggravation. She had it corrected at the settlement. She ultimately paid for a bunch of landscaping rather than handing us a check. We used our agent for two other transactions and thought she was really bright and practical. She really proved it with this transaction. If we could afford her, both of use would hire her for our businesses.

[Anonymous]

I live in McLean. Our neighbors on our street are MR and Cherry Hill homes. They are very happy! Beautiful homes. I also see a lot of Focal Point Homes in McLean, not sure if they are building in Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I live in McLean. Our neighbors on our street are MR and Cherry Hill homes. They are very happy! Beautiful homes. I also see a lot of Focal Point Homes in McLean, not sure if they are building in Arlington.

That is down market McLean. The good builders -- John Joy, Steve Yeonas, Buchanan Price, John Sloane -- are building the quality homes.

[Anonymous]

“ USE A REALTOR WITH A REBATING PROGRAM! ”

Can you elaborate on what this entails? How did you negotiate this?

If anyone used an agent in the new construction home buying process they found to be useful, please share info.

It seems to me if you start the building process from scratch, it might be helpful to have the guidance of agent who has a lot of experience with new construction. This is not most agents though.

If you are buying a spec house, is a buyers agent even needed?

[Anonymous]

I agree with the advice above that the houses near completion that are still available are likely due to location. We were in a pinch and bought one of those in 2020 (classic cottages). Ended up working out great for us — we couldn’t afford the higher end locations/builders. We have been pleased with classic cottages — they were very helpful during the warranty process and I’ve been impressed with the quality overall. Sure it’s not the same quality as if we bought a 3+ MM house, but I wouldn’t expect that in the 1.5-2 MM range. Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“ USE A REALTOR WITH A REBATING PROGRAM! ”

Can you elaborate on what this entails? How did you negotiate this?

If anyone used an agent in the new construction home buying process they found to be useful, please share info.

It seems to me if you start the building process from scratch, it might be helpful to have the guidance of agent who has a lot of experience with new construction. This is not most agents though.

If you are buying a spec house, is a buyers agent even needed?

there are many of them, google your location realtor rebate and whatever qualifiers, highest, new homes, whatever. you will see a handful of them.

if you are buying a spec house your house costs X. if the builders pay a fee to your agent, it will still cost you X (they won't negotiate down bc you don't have an agent). with a realtor that rebates you will get some of their fee back in your pocket. again - likely upwards of 35k given house prices here. yes, if you are buying a spec house and there's a buyers agent fee in the builder's contract, you should have one.

my rebating agent was totally full service. he prefers not to have the whole agent structure (he's also the broker). i think it's a wash for him in terms of $. he was very experienced and i liked him a lot.

[Anonymous]

Good info on this thread.

Separately, does anyone have tips on how to negotiate with a builder? It seems like it should be a good time to do so with interest rates high.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good info on this thread.

Separately, does anyone have tips on how to negotiate with a builder? It seems like it should be a good time to do so with interest rates high.

Good luck, their argument tends to be everything in general is priced high, including labor, and materials, so they don’t seem to be budging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good info on this thread.

Separately, does anyone have tips on how to negotiate with a builder? It seems like it should be a good time to do so with interest rates high.

Good luck, their argument tends to be everything in general is priced high, including labor, and materials, so they don’t seem to be budging.

They'll drop prices if demand softens. At least through the summer, demand was very healthy, so of course they weren't budging. There are signs that the tide has turned, especially with the 8% interest rates and questionable economy, but it's too early to tell.