Full-Time Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2009 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
Below are photos of our latest spec house, and our first attempt at modern. We bought the lot for 125k, and closed on the sale last week for 430k (under contract before completion). This build took 8 months, which is 2-3 months longer than our normal schedule, but considering we had to find new suppliers for the majority of finishes since this was a new design for us, I'm pretty happy with the timeline.
@Karen Margrave In Austin, they call it the 'modern barn' style. Sliding barn doors on rails are a very popular addition to the look for the master bedroom.
It looks great, Bryan. How many square feet? Since you've now done traditional and modern, what do you see is the main differences in construction and your preferences?
This looks similar to a lot of the moderns that are going up in Austin. Dark floors, white walls, rectangular tile, they're proven winners. The final product looks great and your numbers are very similar to the market here in Austin too.
@Derek B. and @Don Harris, this is in NoDA (the arts district) just outside uptown.
@Dawn Brenengen, thank you. This was me just dipping the toe into modern, and not going totally off the ledge. In the past I was nervous to branch out and try different design ideas...What I learned on this house is there is a large market that will pay for "different."
@Jon Klaus, thanks! Our project manager hated the house up until completion due to the lack of trim. We normally build a higher end craftsman project (most of our specs sell in the 500-850k price point), and we'd usually blow it out on trim. I probably saved 10k on trim labor and materials alone, but it all pulled together nicely with the modern finishing touches. That being said, although this came in under our normal budget, our window budget was more (some casements instead of hung), our railings were expensive (custom welded), quartz counters ran about 10/ft more than our granite, etc.
@Account Closed, on this street, there happens to be a good bit of modern design. I tried to show it in the first 2 pics, but I'm not a great photographer :) We decided instead of forcing our craftsman design on this street, we'd try to blend in a bit.
Thanks @John Blackman. I wanted to step out and do something different but wasn't quite ready to reinvent the wheel. I see you guys are crushing it in Austin.. keep it up!
@Karen Margrave, In another thread I had promised you modern. Here it is.. Feel free to critique, but take it easy on me as this was my first modern... :)
@Sandra Gibson, there is room for a 2 car detached garage in the left rear of the property. The buyers plan to add it down the road. We don't always include them if we're trying to keep a listing to a certain price point.
@Karen Margrave In Austin, they call it the 'modern barn' style. Sliding barn doors on rails are a very popular addition to the look for the master bedroom.
great job, Bryan A. I find building spec homes extremely risky - i'd love to do it one day but man the nervousness I feel about it not selling. scares the crap out of me lol.