Rivendale Homes is driving down the cost to build a new home in Austin Texas.

Rivendale Homes is driving down the cost to build a new home.

Between March of 2020 and March of 2023, the cost of building a new home rose 25% led by rising lumber and other commodity costs. Starting in the spring of 2023 lumber prices turned down and other construction material and labor softened. Overall construction cost have only fallen 10% from its peak in the spring of 2023.

We at Rivendale think they are still too high and have been working over the last year to reduce them further. During this time, we have been able to drive costs down an additional 10% compared to other builders based upon the following,

1) We are the Builder of Choice for many of the best vendors and craftsmen in Austin. Our higher volume of homes built each year attracts these trades. We treat them like true partners and pay them quickly, next day if needed. We attract better vendors and better pricing because we are the Builder of Choice in the Austin Luxury home market.

2) We purchase most of the material that goes into our homes and hire top craftsmen to install it. This reduces our costs on items such as framing, foundation sheetrock, painting, flooring and tile by 10%. Most builders purchase these items bundled with labor and materials and pay more.

3) We have hired a pool builder so that we can build our own pools, which reduces the cost by 20%.

4) We have joined a national purchasing group of home builders. By combining the purchasing power of over 500 builders nationwide, we are able to negotiate bulk contracts with nationwide suppliers of material, lowering our cost per house substantially.

All told, we believe we have lowered the cost to build a Luxury home in Austin 20% from its peak in the spring of 2023, significantly lower than most of our competitors. Over the last year our team has worked relentlessly to source new material and vendors to search out new supplier and negotiate better terms, so we can drive down the construction cost of a Custom Luxury Home in Austin and pass the savings on to our customers.