Cost of building new in Arlington

[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.

[Anonymous]

Tariffs are going to make anything built now, compared to 2024 and earlier go up. Copper and steel in particular. And I bet ICE raids on immigrant labor will also have a big effect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tariffs are going to make anything built now, compared to 2024 and earlier go up. Copper and steel in particular. And I bet ICE raids on immigrant labor will also have a big effect.

How much steel goes into a new house construction? Labor is an issue.

[Anonymous]

At a minimum home will have steel support beams- ours was 5k sq feet and at 5k worth of steel, pre tariff. And you can use steel for some of your framing, although this is less common.

Copper is for sure an issue. Wiring, plumbing and appliances use it.

[Anonymous]

Arlington is a literal gold mine. If you own just an empty, ~6K sq ft lot in say Lyon Park, I would buy that from you for at least $600K.

One of the greatest, most elite neighborhoods in the country. Literally has it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arlington is a literal gold mine. If you own just an empty, ~6K sq ft lot in say Lyon Park, I would buy that from you for at least $600K.

One of the greatest, most elite neighborhoods in the country. Literally has it all.

Not among the greatest or most elite, but definitely very expensive.

And yes, anyone would buy that lot for $600K from anyone clueless to sell at that price since it's actually worth at least $1 million.