The 5 Best New Construction Homes Near Denver

Denver approved nearly 3,900 newly built homes in the first seven months of this year. Fewer than 500 were detached, single-family homes.

If you want a brand-new home with a yard, the odds are stacked against you, and most buyers have no idea how few options there are. I’m Ross Blahnik. I’ve been selling homes in Denver for 9 years, and I walk through new builds in these neighborhoods every week. Here are five of the best new-construction homes near Denver, and what makes them better than the typical new build.

Where the New Houses Are Actually Being Built

When most people search “new construction,” they picture a driveway, a yard, and a house nobody has lived in. In Denver, what you often find is a multifamily unit like a condo or townhome. That gap catches almost every buyer.

If you want a new single-family home with a yard, you often have to drive south into Douglas County:

• Parker approved around 350 new single-family homes this year and almost no apartments.
• Castle Rock came in at a little over 100 single-family homes.
• The county area around Highlands Ranch, one of the biggest planned communities in the metro, added a few hundred more.
• Boulder had a little over 100 new homes total. Golden had fewer than 10, and Lakewood was right there with it.

That’s why this list is worth your time. Every home below sits inside Denver, in neighborhoods that were finished decades ago. They are brand-new single-family homes in some of the most walkable pockets in town, which are typically tough to get into. Keep in mind that when you buy new in an old neighborhood, you’re paying for the land and the street as much as the house.

2339 S Adams St, Observatory Park

Craftsmanship at the top of the market

Big trees hang over the road, the sidewalks are wide, and Observatory Park sits in the middle of it all. It’s one of my favorite pockets in south Denver.

This is a Wells Construction build, and I don’t say this often: it’s the finest construction I’ve seen at this price in Denver. It was listed close to $4 million, and once you walk through, the number starts to make sense. The fixtures, finishes, and millwork are better than anything else I’ve seen in this range. You can tell in about 30 seconds whether someone cared about the trim, the corners, and the way a cabinet meets the wall. Here, someone did.

Forma Collective, a design firm out of New York, drew up the home. The result is dressier and more thought-out than your normal Denver build, with Colorado warmth mixed in.

• 5 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms
• Around 5,000 finished square feet
• A 6,350 sq ft lot, a standard urban Denver “double” lot

You’re buying the neighborhood and the walkability to Observatory Park. People move onto streets like this one and don’t leave.

This home has already sold. Homes of this quality don’t sit around long, and a few of the best ones never hit the public sites at all. If you’re shopping for new construction in Denver in this range, I’ll put together a list of what you want and tell you what’s coming, sometimes before it goes live.

888 S Franklin St, Washington Park

A new build directly on the park

At six in the morning, the loop around Wash Park is full of runners, strollers, and dogs, with two lakes, flower gardens, and brick bungalows lining the streets. Wash Park tops pretty much every best-neighborhood list in Denver, and almost nobody leaves. A house directly on the park rarely comes up for sale, and a brand-new one is incredibly rare.

This home sits right on Washington Park and is listed in the mid- to high-$6 million range.

• Four floors, including a huge basement, and around 6,000 square feet
• Four bedrooms
• A private elevator serving all four levels
• A roof deck with views of the park and the Rocky Mountains
• Solar panels that supply a good chunk of the power

What I love is the feel. It’s brand new but carries the look of a historic home, which suits the street.

What to consider: Street parking around the park can be a challenge, especially on summer weekends when the whole city shows up. If you like to host, factor that in. You’re still buying a location that can’t be beat.

237 Madison St, Cherry Creek North

Walk to everything

Dinner, coffee, the gym, the shops, and the galleries are all on foot. In a city where most people drive everywhere, being able to walk to your whole life is rare. Cherry Creek is one of the fanciest corners of Denver and one of the most walkable spots in the metro.

This home lists just under $3 million, the easiest entry point on this list, with four bedrooms and around 3,000 square feet.

• Natural light: The windows in the main living space run 20 feet tall.
• Primary bedroom fireplace: It’s wrapped in stone and maple-brown tile, and makes the room feel like a luxury hotel suite.
• Walnut paneling and 10-foot ceilings downstairs: The paneling is warm against all that glass, and the high ceilings make the lower level feel like a real part of the home.

Anyone can put in big windows. Not every builder adds the details that make a home feel special.

What to consider: This is an active, bustling area, which makes sense this close to some of Denver’s best restaurants and shops. Some people love that, and some want quiet. Walk the block on a Friday night and see which one you are.

4548 Julian St, Berkeley

A rare in-ground pool in northwest Denver

Berkeley has brick bungalows, porch-sitters, a weekend farmers market, First Friday art walks on nearby Tennyson Street, and Rocky Mountain Lake Park a block away. Tennyson has great coffee shops, cocktail bars, and restaurants, and it’s a little more laid-back than Cherry Creek.

This home sold for $3.3 million earlier this year. It offers five bedrooms, around 5,500 square feet of living space, and a rare in-ground swimming pool. With typical urban Denver lots, setbacks, and our relatively short swim season, pools like this don’t often exist in this part of town. The backyard is fully fenced and private, and the whole living room wall slides open to the outdoor space. It’s a host’s dream.

What to consider: There’s a reason pools aren’t common in Colorado. You’ll get good use from about May into September, and you may be covering, heating, and maintaining it the rest of the year. Put that in your monthly number before you fall in love. Also, ask about the roof and the warranty on any new build here.

185 Steele St #303, Waldorf Astoria Residences Cherry Creek

Pre-construction luxury condos

You can’t walk through this one yet. Construction broke ground last November on the first Waldorf Astoria residences in Colorado, a luxury condo building in Cherry Creek North, with completion aimed for early 2028. There are right around 37 condos in the building, and more than 60% sold the day they started digging. Prices run from about the mid-$1 million range for smaller floor plans up to the high $9 million range for penthouses.

The finishes aren’t why it made my list. The service is:

• Your own concierge, a 24-hour front desk, bell service, and valet any time
• An amenity floor with a lounge, a wellness center (sauna, steam room, cold plunge), and a workout studio
• A rooftop pool deck with a bar
• A signature restaurant downstairs with 24/7 room service

It’s a good fit for someone who travels half the month and wants to lock the door and go, a couple downsizing from a large single-family home, or a second-home buyer who’s in town a week at a time. There’s also a lot of new development going up around this building in Cherry Creek North.

What to consider: Buying before it’s built means the finish date can move. You’re choosing your floor plan off a piece of paper, and the monthly HOA dues cover all those amenities.

What to Check on Any New Build

All five homes above are infill, meaning new construction in an already-developed area. If you’re looking at new homes in brand-new neighborhoods, there’s another cost that will raise your monthly expenses.

Metro district taxes

Most new neighborhoods south and west of Denver sit inside a metro district. It’s a small government setup that pays for roads, water lines, landscaping, and other infrastructure. The district charges its own tax, which appears on your county property tax bill and is separate from your HOA dues.

How big can it get?

• At Sterling Ranch in Douglas County, the tax has run in the high 80s to mid-90s mill range in recent filings.
• In Castle Pines, metro districts stack on top of each other, and one by itself can go up to about 69 mills before you count the others.
• Douglas County’s own tax has run around 19 to 20 mills lately, plus a few more for the sheriff’s office in the county areas.

So the county is around 20 mills, and the district can be several times that on top. The rate can also vary within a neighborhood, because different sections have different rates. The number at the model home isn’t always the number on your lot. Before you write an offer, call the county assessor and ask for the tax district on that exact address. In Douglas County, that’s one phone call.

Insurance

Get your insurance quote before you commit. Colorado insurance runs above the national average, and hail is the biggest reason, more than wildfire. Two houses that look the same can be a couple hundred dollars a month apart depending on location and how prevalent hailstorms are.

None of this should scare you off new construction. I sell it year-round, and I would move into any of these homes today. Just go in knowing your real number, because that’s the one you’re living with for the next 30 years.

Final Thoughts

These five homes are what happens when a builder lands a great lot in a neighborhood that’s mostly built out, so opportunities like these are rare.

Want to walk one before it’s gone? Email Ross Blahnik at [email protected], and he’ll get you in right away. He’ll also send over what’s available in this range, including some homes that haven’t hit the market yet.

Ross puts out a new Denver video every week, from neighborhood tours to what a home here costs every month once the bills land. Subscribe on YouTube so the next one finds you.

Source: Ross Blahnik, Oak Group Colorado, “The 5 Best New Construction Homes Near Denver” (YouTube).