A budget built around how you live

The first question in almost any builder meeting is some version of this: what do you charge per square foot? It is a fair question. It is also the number we trust least. A square-foot price is an average. It takes the most expensive rooms in a house, the kitchen, the primary bath, the wall of glass facing the view, and blends them with closets, hallways, and the garage. Change the mix and the average moves, even when nothing about the quality changed.

How we price a home

We do not apply a square-foot average. We price the home you are actually building, room by room and selection by selection. That means real quantities from the drawings, real numbers from the trades who will do the work, and allowances that match the finishes you want, not placeholders that make the first number look good.

It takes longer than handing over a per-foot figure. It also means the number you sign is a number you can build to. We do not win work with a low number, and we do not underbid to get a contract.

Why it runs alongside design

Because we are already in the room with your architect and designer, the budget is priced as the drawings develop. It does not add much time. It removes time later, because nobody has to redesign around a number that came in too high. When a choice in the drawings costs more than it is worth to you, you find out while there is still time to change the drawing instead of cutting the house.

What moves the number

• The land. Slope, soil, access, setbacks, hillside rules, and utilities all shape what it takes to build.
• Structure. Glass, steel, and long spans cost more than framed walls with standard windows.
• Finishes. The same room can be finished in a basic porcelain tile or a book-matched stone slab.
• Outdoor living, pools, and site work, which often sit outside a quoted square-foot number entirely.

Where our projects range

Our projects run from about $1 million to $20 million, across Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia and the Biltmore area. Where your home lands depends on the land, the design, and the selections. An overrun is measured against the number you started with, so that number has to be real from the beginning.

For the full explanation, read what a custom home actually costs in Scottsdale and what pushes a custom build over budget.