Quick answer: New home construction costs $250–$1,200+ per square foot in Los Angeles, excluding land — basic Valley construction is at the low end, custom luxury builds on the Westside, in Malibu, or on hillside lots are at the high end. A standard 2,200 sq ft Valley build runs $550,000–$825,000 in construction cost. APLA Construction (CA Lic #1136359) handles this throughout Greater Los Angeles.
Building a new home in Los Angeles is one of the most complex and most rewarding residential construction projects in the country. Land costs aside, the construction cost per square foot in LA varies by location from $250/sq ft (basic construction in the Valley) to $800+/sq ft (custom luxury on the Westside or in hillside locations). This guide provides real $/sq ft data for new home construction in Los Angeles in 2026.
Every tier is broken down in detail below. Here is the whole picture at a glance:
| Tier | Cost Per Sq Ft | Example Construction Total |
| Standard San Fernando Valley — Burbank, Glendale, Sherman Oaks, Northridge, Canoga Park |
$250–$375 | 2,200 sq ft: $550,000–$825,000 |
| Upgraded Mid-market LA and South Bay — Torrance, Redondo Beach, Pasadena, Culver City |
$350–$525 | 2,500 sq ft: $875,000–$1,312,000 |
| Premium Westside and South Bay coast — Santa Monica, Venice, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach |
$500–$750 | 2,800 sq ft: $1,400,000–$2,100,000 |
| Hillside Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Studio City and Sherman Oaks hillsides |
$450–$700 mid-market $700–$1,000 premium |
Adds a 15–30% premium over a comparable flat-lot build |
| Coastal / luxury Malibu, Pacific Palisades |
$700–$1,200+ | 3,500 sq ft: $2,450,000–$4,200,000+ |
All figures are construction cost only and exclude land. The tier you land in is set mostly by design complexity and finish level, not by square footage — two identical-size Valley homes can sit two tiers apart.
Cost range: $250–$375 per square foot
Standard 3–4 bedroom single-family home on a flat lot in the Valley (Burbank, Glendale, Sherman Oaks, Northridge, Canoga Park). Stock or semi-custom plan, conventional framing, standard MEP, builder-grade to mid-range finishes. For a 2,200 sq ft home: $550,000–$825,000 construction cost (land not included). This is the starting point for APLA new construction in the Valley.
Cost range: $350–$525 per square foot
Custom plan, upgraded finishes (hardwood floors, quartz countertops, custom cabinetry, professional appliances), better window specifications, quality plumbing fixtures. Common in Torrance, Redondo Beach, Pasadena, Culver City. For a 2,500 sq ft home: $875,000–$1,312,000 construction cost.
Cost range: $500–$750 per square foot
Custom design by architect, high-end finishes (natural stone, custom millwork, Milgard or Marvin windows, smart home integration), open-plan layout. Santa Monica, Venice, Culver City west, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach. For a 2,800 sq ft home: $1,400,000–$2,100,000 construction cost.
Add 15–30% premium for properties requiring soils reports, hillside structural engineering, LADBS HCRA review, retaining walls, and access logistics. Silver Lake, Los Feliz, Echo Park, Studio City hillside, Sherman Oaks hillside. Hillside construction typically runs $450–$700/sq ft at mid-market and $700–$1,000/sq ft at premium finish levels.
Cost range: $700–$1,200+ per square foot
Full custom design, estate-level finishes, Coastal Zone CDP, Chapter 7A fire-resistive construction (Malibu, Pacific Palisades). For a 3,500 sq ft home: $2,450,000–$4,200,000+ construction cost (land not included).
The single most common budgeting mistake on a new build in Los Angeles is treating the per-square-foot construction number as the project budget. It is not. It is the largest line in the project budget. Here is what a 2,200 sq ft standard Valley build looks like once the soft costs above are added back in, using the mid-point of each range:
| Line Item | Basis | Example |
| Construction | $250–$375/sq ft | $660,000 at $300/sq ft |
| Architect / designer fees | 8–12% of construction | $66,000 at 10% |
| Soils / geotechnical report | $3,500–$12,000 if required | $6,000 |
| LADBS permit fees | $15,000–$45,000 | $28,000 |
| Total before land and landscaping | $760,000 |
The construction number everyone quotes is about 87% of what you will actually write checks for before you have bought a square foot of land or planted anything. On a hillside or Coastal Zone lot the gap widens further, because soils work, hillside structural engineering, and Coastal Development Permit processing all land in the soft-cost column rather than the construction column.
This is also the honest answer to why a teardown-and-rebuild sometimes loses to a large remodel or addition on the same lot. A rebuild pays the full soft-cost stack from scratch; an addition or gut remodel often does not. If you are weighing the two, compare our Los Angeles home remodel cost guide and room addition cost guide against the numbers above before committing — and see which LA neighborhoods actually favor a teardown rebuild. Where an ADU can serve the same need, it carries a fraction of this soft-cost load.
Construction cost (excluding land): $250–$1,200+/sq ft depending on location, design complexity, and finish quality. A typical new single-family home in the San Fernando Valley runs $550,000–$900,000 in construction costs for a 2,200–2,500 sq ft home. On the Westside, the same home runs $1,200,000–$2,500,000+.
12–30 months total, from design start to certificate of occupancy. LADBS plan check: 12–20 weeks for new single-family homes. Construction: 8–18 months depending on size and complexity. Hillside and Coastal Zone projects add 3–12 months for additional permitting.
Yes. APLA (CA Lic #1136359) handles new home construction in the San Fernando Valley and throughout greater Los Angeles. Call (818) 818-4419 for a free new construction consultation.
No — all the ranges above are construction cost only. Land acquisition in Los Angeles varies enormously by neighborhood and is a completely separate line item from what a contractor’s per-square-foot estimate covers.
Finish level and design complexity typically move the number more than square footage alone. Two 2,500 sq ft homes on similar Valley lots can differ by $200,000–$400,000 in construction cost purely based on whether the plan is stock/semi-custom with builder-grade finishes or fully custom with architect design and high-end finishes.
Call: (818) 818-4419
Email: info@aplaconstruction.com
CA General Contractor License #1136359 — verify on CSLB
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Building outside Los Angeles County? APLA is licensed statewide (CA Lic #1136359) and also builds in Ventura County — Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Camarillo, Oxnard — and Orange County — Irvine, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach. The entitlement rules are state law and travel with you; what changes is which building department reviews the plans.