Field sequence
How to evaluate a lot for new construction.
The listing will tell you the lot is ready. Your job is to prove or kill that claim before you are emotionally committed. This is the order we recommend.
1. Write down the house, not just the lot
Stories, heated square feet, garage, and a hard-cost number you would actually bid. Evaluating dirt without a product is just browsing listings.
2. Ask whether that house already sells nearby
New-construction comps first. Then tight resale competitors. Ignore the one mansion two streets over. If nothing comparable is selling, you do not have an exit — you have a hope.
3. Price the project, then back into the lot
Supported exit minus hard cost, site work, soft costs, selling cost, and required profit is the maximum lot basis. Paying more is a hobby, not a spec.
4. Walk the site with a punch list
Drainage path, neighboring finish-floor heights, overhead lines, driveway geometry, and anything that smells like fill or a creek. Photos from the listing will lie.
5. Pay for the next layer only if the screen clears
Survey, geotech, civil, utility will-serve, HOA architectural, and title. LotAlpha can help you decide whether those invoices are worth writing.
How much should a builder pay for a lot?
There is no universal percentage of ARV that makes a lot “safe.” A cheap lot with $80k of site work and a weak exit is expensive. A dear lot on a street that already absorbs your product can still work. Run the residual. Then cut it again for the items you have not verified.