Iconic Luxury Builder: Scott Hobbs
Michael Ferraro sits down with Scott Hobbs on how custom home building really works, from cost per square foot to why you bring the builder in early.
Watch · Michael FerraroHow custom building really works
On the Leaders of Lifestyle podcast, Michael Ferraro talked with Scott Hobbs of Hobbs, Inc. about the high-end custom home market across Connecticut, New York City, the Hamptons, and Northern New Jersey. Scott walks through why cost per square foot is a rough guide, what actually drives cost, and why bringing the builder in early keeps a project on budget and on schedule.
The throughline is systems. Hobbs runs a commercial-scale operation with a residential interface: the infrastructure and financial strength of a large builder, delivered with a family’s project in mind. Watch above.
What Scott said
Custom building follows real estate transactions. After a decade of neglected housing stock and record sales, homes need upgrading, renovating, or rebuilding, which is why Hobbs stays busy.
Cost per square foot is a rough tool, not a truth. What a square foot means, and what a bid includes (fee, supervision, driveway, utilities), matters more than the number.
For high-end new construction, figure roughly $650 to $850 a square foot for a conventional build, more for transitional detail, and $1,200 and up for contemporary, where the house is built like a watertight, fully conditioned cabinet.
Bring the builder in early. Hobbs favors construction management, owner, architect, and builder building the budget together, so there are far fewer surprises and the schedule stays tight.
Hobbs runs a commercial-scale operation with a residential interface: the systems, financial strength, and building science of a large builder, delivered with a family’s project in mind.
Do not wait for prices to fall. Labor is scarce, demand is high, and the ones who waited last year are paying more now. Time is the expensive part.
Building custom, in short
What does a high-end custom home cost per square foot?
It depends on what you are building. A conventional build in a market like Greenwich runs roughly $650 to $850 a square foot, transitional detail adds $100 to $150, and a true contemporary starts around $1,200 and can double, because the house is built like a watertight, fully conditioned cabinet. First, agree on how a square foot is defined and what the number includes. See how we work.
When should you bring in the builder?
Early. Hobbs favors a construction-management approach where the owner, architect, and builder build the budget together, so feasibility is clear from the start and there are fewer surprises. With builders booked out, involving one early is almost the only way to keep a schedule. Start with a conversation.
Should you wait for construction prices to come down?
Rarely worth it. Labor is scarce, the demand for skilled trades is high, and after a decade of underbuilt housing the pressure is not easing. The people who waited last year are paying more now. See our completed work.
What separates one custom builder from another?
Systems and trust. Longevity, real accounting and scheduling systems, a superintendent who is part of the company rather than a hired gun, and a culture that carries lessons from one project to the next. Hobbs exposes its superintendents to around twenty houses a year, so knowledge compounds.
Homes by Hobbs
Stay in the conversation
More from Hobbs
New conversations with Scott and the Hobbs team, and each new Journal entry, delivered as it publishes.
Working on a home of your own? Start a conversation.
Featured on Michael Ferraro’s channel.