Blog

We’re launching a new semi-custom line of homes this spring.
This new line of homes will include a foundation of eight
award winning new homes previously built.

We’ll be adding several new home plan styles to our foundation of eight,
that our market research has indicated, the Washington DC market is
demanding.

The new home designs coming out in the spring
will be the result of focus group studies and
interviews with our clients and home building prospects
we have been conducting the last several months
and are ongoing over the next few months.

To give you a hint of what our
research has shown (it’s not
what you think), here is a peak of one of the new home
plans Kevin, our architect, is creating:

Ranch Style New Home Floor Plan

Here is one of many new home plans we are designing now for our new Semi-Custom home line coming out in the Spring 2011

We’ve had a large demand for first floor master suite homes and homes
with just one floor. So we are in the process of designing several home
plan prototypes.

If you’d like to be included in any of our studies (and possibly our model home
program). Send an email to info@paramountconstruction.net.

I’d appreciate it if you let me know below what you like or don’t like about this
floor plan. And if you have any suggestions that you’d like to see added.
Also, do you have any suggestions on new home plans that you’d like to
see in the future, please comment below.

Looking for a great new home in Bethesda? We have a new home on a 33,000sf wooded lot in Bannockburn.
The home will be built soon and can still be customized. Take a look at the Bethesda building lot
and the new home features.

Here is a wonderful custom designed new home on 3 acres in McLean. The home design
was created to capture the tremendous views on every side of the home.

The master suite is on the first floor. The ceilings are 10 feet on the main level.
Five inch clear maple floors with custom wood floor stain are one of the many
custom features which set this home apart.

The powder room has a custom designed marble sink. The homeowner was deeply
involved in the entire design process and her refined tastes and sensibilities
are reflected in this custom home.

The structure was designed and engineered using panelized wood framing
techniques. The framing package was fabricated and the panels were assembled
in an indoor facility and then shipped out to the site and erected.

There are lots of custom WoodMode builtins which provide function and design
elements which add to the custom feel of the home.

Listen to home design and building tips that will save you money and headache if you are designing and building a new home:

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Here is the front elevation of a new home plan that we are building in Falls Church Virginia.
This new home will have a first floor master suite.We are incorporating green building designs and green building materials.

Falls Church  New Home

Falls Church New Home

This new home in McLean Virginia won Best New Home of The Year.
You’ll see that the design details are sharp, clean and crisp.
Take a look now:

This is an article from Robyn Griggs Lawrence of Home Living Magazine

Looking to spend less heating your home this winter? You’re not alone. Now the Environmental Protection Agency’s
new Green Homes website can help. Whether you rent or own your home, Green Homes offers tips on reducing
energy consumption, waste generation and water usage while improving indoor air quality.
Check Out EPA Site Here

Falls Church Virginia New Home

Watch this homeowner who retained Paramount Construction to design and build their new custom home in the City of Falls Church.

We first met the owners at a new home open house event we held a few years ago. We just completed a new home on Oak Street in Falls Church and they stopped by to visit the newly completed home.

Two years later we completed their custom home we constructed using the latest in panelized homebuilding techniques.

We named the mode the Falls Creek.

The new home in the City of Falls Church, Virginia is designed with a side-load courtyard two car garage. The garage doors are not as visible with this side-load design.

This model home also has a first floor primary bedroom suite for convenient first floor living.

We specialize in a large variety of first floor bedroom and multi-generational new homes.

Looking for builders who build in Falls Church. Here’s a list of some of the top builders in Virginia.

Take a video tour of our Falls Creek model home

 

Business conditions stayed weak through 2009’s 3rd quarter for housing design architects, yet specific segments at the market’s lower end look ready for a 2010 recovery, according to fresh numbers from the AIA.

Since the billings for architects are usually a good prediction of future activity in construction, this could be good news for homebuilders.

Design work for affordable homes for first-time buyers jumped from -64 percent in the third quarter of 2008 to -2 percent in a year over year comparison, according to architects responding to the latest AIA Quarterly Design Trends survey. (Percentages indicate the number of respondents reporting sector ‚improving‚ minus the number reporting ‚ aweakening.‚)

The feeling towards the move-up market had an improved gain that traveled from -57 percent down to -29 percent within the same time frame.

Each market segment has been boosted through decreasing home costs and good mortgage rates. AIA cheif economist Kermit Baker noted the kick-start the affordable market received from such aid as the federal tax credit for those purchasing a home for the first time.

The third quarter of 2009 showed strong gains in remodeling activity, with 27 percent of architects reporting an increased demand for both renovations and additions, up from 13 percent in the year prior. Kitchen as well as bathroom remodeling jobs increased by a very large percentage, from approximately eight percent during 2008 to approximately twenty six percent during 2009, an increase of more than three times the percent for one year.

Additional market segments have not been as fortunate. The townhouse/condo market remained stagnant, with a score of -43 percent in 2009 vs. -49 percent in 2009. Interest in custom/luxury homes and second vacation homes remained extremely low, at -48 percent and -70 percent, respectively.

Through the third quarter of 2009, the AIA‚Äôs residential billings index rose sharply from a score of 20 in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 38 in the second quarter of 2009, but then remained flat at 38 overall. Individual scores not above 50 are indicative of negative activity, however “less bad” categories are those that show scores that are ten or above.

Moving from a score of 35 in the first quarter of 2009 to 47 in the second quarter, new project inquiries at architecture firms remained similarly meager last year, but inched closer to the halfway mark.

Geographically speaking, reports from architects suggest that recovery will be concentrated most heavily in urbanized areas. Some 69 of respondents in the latest survey indicated a rise in demand for infill development, up from 63 percent in 2008.

The source of this article is Builder Online.

Wheeeew…it’s over – – we had over 200 guests visit our Bethesda Open House yesterday!

I want to thank everyone for attending and I hope you liked what you saw.

First, I want to announce the winner of the Flip Mino Camera Drawing – the winner is…

…Mary H. (we’ll be contacting you today and sending out the
camera) – Congratulations!

Second, I apologize for not being able to meet with everyone individually and answer your
questions.

So I wanted to give you a quick FAQ below to answer some of the
most common questions and least technical (which I’ll answer in future emails – like,
does the $6500 tax credit apply to building a new home, can you really get tens of thousands
of dollars in tax credits with a tear-down and how do you obtain a “Green” LEED rated home?).

Here you go:

Q: Did we create the architectural design and perform the construction of the new home on Berkley Street?
A: Yes. We are architects and builders. Kevin is our on-staff, full-time architect.

Q: Is the home for sale or did we build it for an owner?
A: The home is not for sale, the home was built for the owner.

Q: Was the home design from our Paramount Portfolio Plan Book or was it custom designed?
A: When the owners were checking our references, they visited and met the owners of
our Belmont Model and fell in love with that home. However, given the owners unique needs
and wants and given the unique characteristics of the lot on Berkley, we created a custom design for
the owners.

Q: Do we charge a premium for creating a custom design vs building a home plan from our Paramount Portfolio
of over 80 New Home Plans?
A: Currently, we do not charge anything additional to create a custom home design.

Q: Was there an existing home on the property that was torn down?
A: Yes (we had many questions about the potential tax benefits of tens of thousands of dollars associated with the
tear-down, and a subsequent email will detail the benefits and how that works)

Q: What was the price of the Berkley home and what was included? What was not included?
A: Price was in the $600K +/- range and was all inclusive – demolition of existing home, excavation, permitting,
blueprints, engineering, surveying, utilities, custom selections, etc.

Q: Do you take on home additions and home renovations, as well as new homes?
A: Yes. Currently we have six projects of that type in process.

Q: Do you take on small remodeling projects – $50k to $200K?
A. No, but given the demand, we are considering accepting a few projects on a very limited basis.

Q: I want to build a new home but I don’t have land. Do you have land or lots? Can you help?
A: Yes, we have about 10 lots in Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Mclean and N. Arlington.

I hope this helped.

I’ll be sending out another FAQ in the next few days on some of the more technical issues brought up
and we’re working on a video series that will answer many questions at an even deeper level, which will
come out in the next few weeks.

Again, Kevin and I really appreciate your interest in what we do and please feel free to email me at
rob@paramountconstruction.net or Kevin at kdavis@paramountconstruction.net or call me at 301-370-6463
with any questions you have.