Ground-Up Construction in Los Angeles | Cost Per Square Foot, Custom Homes

Standard home: $300 to $600 / sq ftBuilder grade to mid custom
Custom or luxury: $800 to $1,500+ / sq ftSlope and detail drive it
Small multifamily: $300 to $450 / sq ftDuplex to fourplex
Add for soft costs: 15 to 25%Design, fees, utilities

Ground-up means starting with a vacant lot or a teardown and ending with a finished building: a custom house, a duplex, a small-lot project or a small apartment building. We build for people who want a house designed around how they actually live, and for developers who need a contractor who understands draw schedules and lender requirements.

The best time to bring us in is before the drawings are done. Pricing the design while it is being drawn is what stops the version where the bids come back 40 percent over and the architect has to start again.

The order a build happens inEight stages, each one gated by an inspection. Nothing later can start early, which is why the schedule is the schedule.

What it costs in Los Angeles

What	Typical Los Angeles range	Notes
New single-family, builder to mid-custom	$300 to $600 per sq ft	Excludes land, design and permits
New single-family, custom or luxury	$800 to $1,500+ per sq ft	Slope, soil and detail
Duplex to fourplex	$300 to $450 per sq ft	Per square foot of building
Soft costs	15 to 25% on top	Architecture, engineering, permits, fees
Hillside foundation premium	$75,000 to $300,000	Caissons, grade beams, geotechnical work

Planning ranges for Los Angeles County, reviewed 2026-10-29. Not a quote. We price every job after walking it.

What's included

Pricing the design while your architect is still drawing it
Demolition, site clearing and grading
Utility hookups: sewer, water, gas, power and internet
Foundations, including deep foundations on hillside lots
Framing, roofing, waterproofing and the exterior shell
Electrical, plumbing, fire sprinklers and heating and air
Interior finish, cabinets, tile, flooring and paint
Hardscape, drainage, landscaping edges and final inspections

What drives the price

Flat lot or hillside, and what the soil report says
Size, number of units and number of stories
Fire sprinklers, fire-zone requirements and the solar the state requires on new homes
Custom detailing versus production-level finish
Permit and impact fees, which vary a lot between cities

Permits and approvals

New construction goes through full plan review with architectural, structural, civil, mechanical and energy documents, plus grading, haul routes and sometimes hillside or coastal approvals. The City of Los Angeles typically runs 9 to 18 months from start of design to permit on a custom home, and longer for multifamily. We coordinate the submittals with your design team so the packages go in complete.

How long it takes

Design and permitting commonly take 9 to 18 months in the City of Los Angeles for a custom home. Construction is 10 to 16 months for a house and 12 to 24 months for small multifamily. You get a baseline schedule at contract and we track against it weekly.

Three ways to scope it

Figure out what fits

Site analysis, zoning and density, a budget and a schedule, before design gets committed.

Get it approved

City review, grading permits, haul routes, utility applications and sign-offs from fire, planning and public works.

Build it

A fixed or capped price with a draw schedule your lender will accept.

How we run the job

1. Walk the property

We meet you on site, listen, and look at what the building and the city will need. You get a written scope and a budget range.

2. Drawings

When drawings are needed we bring in the architect and engineer, and price the design while it is being drawn.

3. Permit

We file with the city, handle the corrections they send back, and tell you where it stands.

4. Price and contract

An itemized price, a schedule and payment terms. Anything new after signing gets priced in writing first.

5. Build

One supervisor on your job, licensed trades, inspections in order, and a weekly update with photos.

6. Walkthrough

A final fix list, the city's sign-off, and a written warranty on our work.

Questions

Do you build for developers?

Yes. Small-lot and multifamily projects with draw schedules your lender will accept, lien releases and monthly cost reporting.

Can you help before the architect is finished?

That is the best time. Pricing the design as it is drawn avoids the redesign that happens when finished plans come back over budget.

Is solar required on a new house?

Yes. California requires solar on new single-family homes and low-rise multifamily, with narrow exceptions. The 2025 energy code, in effect since January 2026, also makes heat pumps the baseline for heating and hot water on most new homes. We build both into the budget from the start.

What kind of contract do you use?

Fixed price when the design is finished. A capped price when design is still wrapping up. Cost-plus with open books for clients who want to see every invoice. We will explain the tradeoffs rather than push one.

Can you build on a hillside?

Yes. Expect a soil report, drainage design, deep foundations and a longer permit. We bring the engineer in at the feasibility stage so the budget is real.

Related work

Commercial floor part-way through a tenant fit-out

Ground-Up New Construction