How much land do you need to build a luxury custom home?

Q:

How much land do you need to build a luxury custom home?

A:

The amount of land that you will require has more to do with the size of the custom home you decide
to construct, where you plan to construct the home and what your plans for the outdoor space are going to be then actual size of the property.

If you are planning to build in the city all you have to do conform to the existing building bylaws with reference to minimum setbacks from your lot lines and the total percentage of the lot that you are allowed to cover with the purposed new home.

When you are planning to build a luxury custom home in a more rural setting then you should own enough land that the home doesn’t look like it is over whelming everything else around it. Luxury custom homes in rural settings should have acres around them so that there can be professional landscaping that includes features that are common with luxury homes i.e.: Pools, ponds, fountains, out buildings, fences, gardens, hedges, patios, barns, pool houses, outdoor kitchens, walking trails and trees.

When you are planning to build a luxury custom home you should think about how you are going to heat the home, in a rural setting you will usually not have access to natural gas. That means that you should be installing geothermal heating, geothermal heating has piping installed in the ground. The most efficient version of geothermal heating is horizontal loops that are placed 5 to 8 feet under the ground. For that you should make sure that you have 5 to 10 acres to have it installed. Add in the need for a septic system to be installed in the ground and you will require 7 to 10 acres to build your luxury custom home in a rural setting.

If you want large out buildings for your toys then you should look for 20 to 50 acres, this will allow you to spread things around so that nothing looks crowded. One of the things that people look for in a rural setting is the feeling of space from other people and other structures. When you construct a custom home you should try to set it back from the road and away from all your neighbours, this gives you the feeling of a private setting and a feeling of a quiet and personal place all to yourself.

Sticking to this size of property in a rural setting will maximize the value of resale in the future; if you are planning on building in the city then the local building department can tell you the maximum you are allowed to cover on your property and what your restrictions will be for the setbacks from the property lines.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.