Homes by Tradition is a locally owned, Lakeville-based custom home builder whose team of architects, designers, and craftsmen guides clients through a custom design-build journey, including building on your own lot. Through its TRADITION network it offers in-house mortgage, banking, title, and development services. Listed service areas include Lakeville, Prior Lake, Edina, Minnetonka, Rosemount, Chaska, Inver Grove Heights, Mendota Heights, and Dakota County.
Apple Valley Home Builders
16 vetted builders serving Apple Valley (Dakota County) · Luxury, Mid-range price tiers · how we vet & rank
Building in Apple Valley
Apple Valley is served by sixteen builders, exactly one of which keeps its head office in the city. Seven come from Lakeville and five from Burnsville; the last three are based in Inver Grove Heights, Eagan, and — for one firm — nowhere we have on record. The practical effect is a deep bench without a hometown default: fourteen of the sixteen also serve Lakeville, so most of these builders are competing for the same buyers across both cities.
The pricing is unusually uniform. Fourteen of the sixteen sit in the mid tier and two in luxury — there is no value tier and no ultra tier here, which means the spread between the cheapest and most expensive builder on the list is narrower than in most cities we cover.
Stone Cottage Construction is the one local firm, a custom and semi-custom builder bringing a combined 60 years of experience to the building process. Buyers can take one of its rambler or two-story plans, bring their own, or have one designed for them, working with an in-house designer and a private design center; its site notes a Builders Association of the Twin Cities Reggie Award recognizing its popular rambler plan.
Nine of the sixteen build custom homes and six offer semi-custom plans. Remodeling coverage is even across the trades — five each for whole-home projects, kitchens, baths, and basements, and three for additions. Two builders on the list hold recent Housing First Minnesota recognition: OneTenTen Homes took a Reggie Award at the 2025 Fall Parade of Homes, and Homes by Tradition built a Parade of Homes Dream Home in 2021.
Top Apple Valley Home Builders
OneTenTen Homes is a Burnsville-based builder that combines the efficiency of a large builder with the flexibility of an independent custom builder, offering a large scope of pre-designed floorplans and models that buyers can customize. The company grew out of Bill and Carol Ryan's Bloomington real estate roots, and its process includes a detailed pre-construction meeting, a pre-drywall inspection, and a 10-year structural warranty. Its site notes it is a recipient of the Parade of Homes Reggie Award and has multiple models open in Twin Cities communities.
Bellepar Homes is a Lakeville firm specializing in new home design/build, remodeling and additions, and finished basements for homeowners in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas. Clients can build from the firm’s stock floorplans — each designed as a customizable starting point — or pursue a fully custom design, and the team collaborates weekly across design, production, construction, and budget until project completion.
White Birch Design is a full-service design/build remodeling company based in Lakeville, specializing in kitchen, bath, and basement projects. Co-owners Steve McDonald and Angela Barnhart bring a combined 30-plus years in the design, construction, and real estate industries, guiding homeowners from concept to design to construction with a boutique-style approach. Its primary focus is the south metro communities of Lakeville, Eagan, Apple Valley, Burnsville, Rosemount, Prior Lake, and Savage, and it also works with homeowners across the Minneapolis and St. Paul area.
Cuddigan Custom Builders is a Lakeville-based family business that has been building custom homes since 1985 - more than 40 years - with each home architecturally inspired and individually tailored to the client's needs. The firm builds in neighborhoods including The Wilds and The Ranch of Credit River as well as on customers' own lots, and its project team works with clients every step of the process.
Founded in 2000, McDonald Remodeling is a full-service design/build firm based in Inver Grove Heights with a dedicated interior design studio, building on values cultivated since Jim McDonald built his first home in 1976. The team works on projects of all sizes — bathrooms, kitchens, additions, lower levels, and whole-home remodels — serving St. Paul, Minneapolis, the surrounding metro area, and western Wisconsin. Its contract includes one-year workmanship, two-year mechanical, and ten-year structural warranties, and its site describes the firm as one of the most awarded home remodelers in the Twin Cities.
Titus Contracting is a Burnsville-based design-build contractor founded in 2008, with more than 600 projects completed across residential and commercial work. On the residential side it remodels whole homes, kitchens, bathrooms, and basements; builds additions including accessory dwelling units and second-story additions; and creates specialty spaces such as indoor sport courts, golf simulators, and home gyms. The company also builds out and remodels commercial spaces.
New Spaces is a second-generation, family-owned design-build remodeling firm with 40+ years of experience, founded by Doug Nelson and now led with his son Shawn Nelson. From a headquarters in Burnsville and a design center at Edina's Southdale Center, the company handles whole-home transformations, kitchens, baths, basements, additions, and outdoor living for homeowners across the south, west, and broader Twin Cities metro. Each client works with a dedicated designer who develops three design plans to choose from, with a firm budget commitment made after design.
Country Joe Homes is a semi-custom home builder that has operated for over 40 years as a family-owned business rooted in Lakeville. It offers a variety of floorplans with the flexibility to personalize details, along with move-in-ready homes in south-metro neighborhoods including Peltier Reserve, Autumn Hill, Summers Creek, Cedar Creek, and the Preserve of Lakeville, and its team supports buyers from financing through move-in day. The company positions itself as a local alternative to national builders.
Great Northern Builders is a family-owned, licensed general contractor located in Eagan whose work runs from design-build remodels and whole-house renovations to new home construction and commercial build-outs. Founder and owner Chris Biljan has over 30 years in the industry, almost 20 of those as Great Northern Builders, and the firm works with clients throughout the Twin Cities metro area and in western Wisconsin.
McNearney Custom Homes is a Lakeville family builder whose site describes nearly 100 years of building: grandfather Robert began building homes just after World War I, Jim took over the business in 1955, and current owner Bob McNearney succeeded him in 1988. With a focus on quality over quantity, the firm offers a hands-on custom process - from selecting materials to applying your own design ideas - with in-house plan design, and can assist buyers in finding a lot and building in the Twin Cities suburbs and metro area.
Stone Cottage Construction is an Apple Valley-based custom home builder serving the Minneapolis and St. Paul area, bringing a combined 60 years of experience to the building process. Buyers can pick from the company's rambler and two-story plans for a range of budgets, bring their own plan, or have one designed specifically for them, with help from an in-house designer and a private design center. Its site notes a Builders Association of the Twin Cities Reggie Award recognizing its popular rambler plan.
Pietsch Builders is a custom home builder in Lakeville, Minnesota, building custom homes in the south metro since 1986. The company builds 30-50 homes a year using fully customizable floor plans, currently including the Berres Ridge neighborhood in Lakeville, and clients have direct contact with Doug Pietsch from start to finish of the building process.
Homes by Moderno - whose site now operates as Moderno Construction Management (Moderno Homes) - is a third-generation, family-owned builder led by owners Jake, Ashlee, and Alexandra Tupy, serving Prior Lake, Lakeville, and surrounding south metro areas. The family has built over 800 homes and completed over thirty five residential developments plus complex acreage and lake builds, and its building model promises 100% transparency in finance and schedules, keeping clients highly involved throughout the build.
McDonald Construction Partners builds custom and semi-custom homes across the Twin Cities, carrying on a company history that dates to 1978; founder Bob McDonald retired in late 2021 after Dave Remick acquired the firm in September 2021. Based in Burnsville, the builder develops and builds within its own communities across the metro and also builds on land clients already own, including teardown-and-rebuild projects in established neighborhoods. An in-house design team and home consultants work with buyers on the details, and every McDonald home is MN Green Path tested.
Brandl Anderson Homes has built single-family homes, villas, and townhomes since 1993, developing its own neighborhood communities across the south and southwest metro — currently selling in Lakeville, Apple Valley, Farmington, Inver Grove Heights, Chanhassen, and Carver, with Minnetrista and Waconia communities on the way. Move-in-ready inventory on its site lists from the mid-$400Ks to just over $1M, several communities are association-maintained, and the company builds under its Green Path homes program.
What It Costs to Build in Apple Valley
See the full breakdown of price per square foot by build type, what drives Minnesota budgets, and city comparisons in our statewide cost to build in Minnesota study.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many home builders serve Apple Valley?
Our directory currently lists 16 vetted builders serving Apple Valley, spanning mid-range and luxury price tiers. We're expanding coverage continuously as we verify licensing and service areas. See our methodology on the How We Vet & Rank page.
What does it cost to build a house in Apple Valley?
Construction costs in Apple Valley generally follow metro norms: roughly $230–$300 per square foot for production homes, $250–$400 for semi-custom, and $300–$450+ for custom builds, before land. See our cost-to-build guide for a full breakdown.
Do builders in Apple Valley build on your own lot?
Several do. Homes by Tradition, OneTenTen Homes, Bellepar Homes and others take on custom projects in Apple Valley, and build-on-your-lot arrangements are common. Bring your lot details (or the listing) to your first conversation: siting, utilities, and soils drive early feasibility.
Are there remodeling contractors in this directory for Apple Valley?
Yes — 6 design-build remodelers in our directory serve Apple Valley, covering kitchens, bathrooms, basements, additions, and whole-home projects. See the Apple Valley remodeling pages for the filtered lists.
Do I need a licensed builder in Apple Valley?
Yes. Minnesota requires residential building contractors to hold a state license (BC number) issued by the Department of Labor & Industry, and Apple Valley (Dakota County) also requires local permits and inspections for new construction and major remodels. We display verified license numbers on builder profiles as we confirm them. Always verify a contractor's license status at the DLI website before signing.
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