The first annual Lake Anna Home Tour was a certain success! The homes (and one boathouse) featured were among the most coveted properties on Lake Anna. From the exclusivity of their lake locations to the uniqueness of custom features and creature comforts – these homes made us drool with desire, and maybe also left us inspired with the fresh vision that they bring to lake living.

The homes on tour ranged from a renovated retro vacation home to a carefully thought-out life-long dream home – to several new construction homes in Lake Anna’s newest development, Rock Island – where new memories are in their infancy. The new construction homes in Rock Island are either still waiting for an eager buyer, or, some of them are already off to the races as a successful short-term rental property, sleeping 20 or more! Bring all the kids, and their friends for basement bunk rooms that double as summer camp on steroids!

So what was the consumer’s consensus on the presentation of these homes? Local lake homeowners took in all of the design concepts and are perhaps planning home renovations of their own after seeing transformed spaces and maximized use of space, especially outdoor and entertaining spaces.

erspective buyers became more engaged and intrigued with homeownership opportunities at Lake Anna and the lifestyle that goes along with it. But what does it cost to duplicate any of these new and/or custom homes?

Builder, Jeff Owen, owner of JOContractors, chimes in on what to plan for with a custom build: “While some builders are able to offer pricing based on a limited number of models they’re previously built and then add and subtract for current material costs and certain upgrades, the custom build process is a totally different beast when it comes to pricing,” Owen explains. “The best way to be totally transparent with the client and offer them clear and understandable pricing is to use ‘cost plus’ pricing.” This means that the builder will allow for his actual cost, plus a percentage. Owen goes on to explain that the client needs to understand that while it may be virtually impossible to estimate a total cost during the initial stages of the project that the ‘cost plus’ approach is the most fair strategy for both parties, taking into account materials cost fluctuation as well.

The chatter that continues about real estate values at Lake Anna bares one burning question: What is the highest home value on Lake Anna? All that we have to go on as far as public knowledge are tax-assessed values (which many are disgruntled to learn are rising, especially as Louisa County plays catch-up, and suggests 2025 tax assessments that exceed market value), and re-sales, which then become comps for existing homes. To date, the highest priced single-family re-sale on Lake Anna on a single lot was $3.4 million, with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and nearly 7,000 finished square feet. But, this listing was entered “for comparable purposes only” with zero days on the market, and so it was hardly a public offering and merely got documented, but is still out in front of the next highest priced single family home that sold for $2.65 million in January of 2023.

Speculating on some of the priciest custom homes on Lake Anna, construction costs could easily top $5 million, and if Oprah’s limo pulled up to make an offer, could easily bring a “make-me-sell price” fetching $8-10 million. But, we’ll have to keep our popcorn ready until those speculative scenarios become history. Until then, dream big, and enjoy Lake Anna’s current offerings, and bring your imagination (and your checkbook) if your dream isn’t already a reality here at Lake Anna!

Tiffany Hazelwood

Tiffany Hazelwood has a degree in Journalism from the University of Richmond is a full-time Real Estate Broker with Lake Homes Realty, a lake-focused real estate firm, where she serves as the Anchor Agent for the Lake Anna market. She has been a licensed realtor since 2008 and has been specializing in real estate here at the lake since 2016. She has enjoyed writing the real estate section for the Lake Anna Breeze™ since 2019. In her spare time, Tiffany enjoys jet-skiing and boating on the lake, traveling with her boyfriend, Tom, and time with their 3 dogs.