Above the national production builders and below full custom sits Richmond’s semi-custom tier, and three names dominate it: Schell Brothers, Boone Homes, and Eagle Construction of Virginia. All three sell design flexibility a Ryan or Lennar buyer cannot get, all three price mostly between $600,000 and $1.2 million, and all three build in the same handful of Chesterfield and Goochland neighborhoods. In 2025 Eagle closed 156 Richmond homes for $112.1 million and Schell closed $91 million; Boone builds at lower volume and does not appear in the HBAR top-ten list. Here is how they differ where it matters.
Daniel Yoon is a Certified New Home Co-Broker (NHCB) representing buyers on new construction across the Richmond metro. Full profiles: Schell Brothers, Boone Homes, and Eagle Construction.
Side by side
| Schell Brothers | Boone Homes | Eagle Construction | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Private, Rehoboth Beach DE, founded 2003; in Richmond since 2016 | Private, Manakin-Sabot VA, founded 1985 | Markel Ventures since 2013; Henrico VA, founded 1984 |
| 2025 Richmond volume | $91 million (HBAR/BizSense) | Not in HBAR top ten; low-volume by design | 156 closings, $112.1 million |
| Typical price band | Roughly $600s to $1M+ | Roughly $700s to $1M+ | Roughly $500s to $1M+ depending on community |
| Key communities | RounTrey, Magnolia Green, NewMarket, Summer Lake; Harpers Mill coming | RounTrey, Hallsley, Chickahominy Falls | Hallsley, Readers Branch, The Aire at Westchester |
| Warranty | 10-year structural reported; terms not published | Not published; 60-day and 1-year reviews | Eagle Advantage insured 1-2-10, terms published |
| Lender tie | Henlopen Mortgage; $10,000 Platinum incentive plus $10,000 to $15,000 Flex Cash | No affiliated lender advertised | Preferred-lender incentives vary by community |
| Review snapshot | Houzz 3.8/5 (822, national); thin Richmond-specific record | Houzz 3.0/5 (4); very thin footprint | Avid 4.2/5 (686); Zillow 4.2/5 (645); BBB A+ |
| Recognition | National culture and design awards | HBAR MAME Builder of the Year 2026 | HBAR top-ten volume; 40 years in Richmond |
Sources: HBAR rankings via Richmond BizSense, builder websites, and the review pages linked in each profile.
Where they compete head to head
RounTrey in Midlothian is the clearest matchup: Schell and Boone both sell there, alongside LifeStyle and Homesmith, so you can walk models from two of the three in one afternoon. Our RounTrey builders guide covers that lineup lot by lot. Hallsley is Boone and Eagle territory, with custom builders alongside. Chickahominy Falls in Hanover has Boone next to Cornerstone and StyleCraft. Eagle runs its own communities too, Readers Branch in Goochland being the main one, which neither Schell nor Boone can match; when Eagle controls the neighborhood it controls lot release and pricing in a way the others do not.
Current inventory from all three is on our new home search at showingnew.com/dyoonnewhomes.
Design flexibility: the reason to shop this tier
All three will move walls, extend footprints, and rework plans in ways production builders will not, but they get there differently. Schell sells from a defined plan library with deep structural options and a heavily produced design-studio experience; the process feels like a national builder with the ceiling of a custom one. Boone works at lower volume with more per-lot latitude, and its build timeline runs longer as a result, in our experience 10 to 14 months against roughly 7 to 9 for a Schell or Eagle to-be-built. Eagle sits in between: a plan library refined over 40 years, an included tier that already reads custom (8-foot solid-core doors, hardwood, tile showers in most series), and the operational consistency that comes with closing 150-plus homes a year.
The practical test we give buyers: bring your three must-have changes to each sales office and ask for a written yes, no, or price. The answers sort the three builders faster than any brochure.
Warranty: Eagle publishes, the others do not
This is the sharpest structural difference. Eagle’s Eagle Advantage warranty is a published, insured 1-2-10: one year workmanship, two years systems, ten years structural, backed by a third-party insurer rather than only the builder’s own balance sheet. Schell reports ten-year structural coverage but does not publish terms. Boone publishes no terms and structures service around a 60-day and a one-year review. None of this predicts whether a given superintendent returns calls, but an insured structural warranty survives a builder’s exit from the market, and only Eagle offers that in writing. The full market picture is in our Richmond builder warranty comparison.
Incentives and lender ties
Schell is the most aggressive of the three right now: $10,000 to $15,000 in Flex Cash plus a $10,000 Platinum incentive tied to Henlopen Mortgage, its affiliated lender. Eagle’s incentives vary by community and season and are usually tied to a preferred lender. Boone advertises no affiliated lender, which means fewer strings and also no lender credit to negotiate around. As with the nationals, price the incentive against the lender’s actual rate and fees; our incentives guide shows the math.
What buyers report
Eagle has the deepest independent record: 4.2 on Avid across 686 surveys and 4.2 on Zillow across 645 reviews, with an A+ BBB profile and only two complaints in three years. Schell’s 3.8 on Houzz across 822 reviews is mostly Delaware; its Richmond-specific record is thin, which is normal for a builder ten years into a market. Boone’s public footprint is thinner still, four Houzz reviews, so references do the work reviews cannot: ask each builder for three buyers who closed 12 to 24 months ago, and ask the HOA managers at Hallsley and RounTrey which builders generate the fewest disputes.
Which one, for which buyer
- Buyer who wants the most polished design process and current incentives: Schell.
- Buyer who wants the most per-lot flexibility and will trade time for it: Boone.
- Buyer who wants published, insured warranty terms and a 40-year local track record: Eagle.
- Buyer in RounTrey specifically: Schell or Boone; walk both models the same day.
- Buyer in Goochland: Eagle (Readers Branch), since the other two are not there.
- Buyer under $500,000: none of the three, most of the time. Start with our production builder comparison instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is Schell Brothers or Eagle Construction better in Richmond? Eagle has the longer local record (since 1984), a published insured 1-2-10 warranty, and 686 Avid surveys at 4.2. Schell brings a more produced design experience and stronger current incentives, with a thinner Richmond-specific review record. Both build semi-custom homes mostly above $600,000.
How is Boone Homes different from Schell and Eagle? Boone builds at much lower volume with more per-lot flexibility, longer build timelines, and no affiliated lender. It won the HBAR MAME Builder of the Year award for 2026. It publishes no warranty terms, so get them in writing before deposit.
Where do Schell, Boone, and Eagle all build? No single community has all three. Schell and Boone overlap at RounTrey in Midlothian. Boone and Eagle overlap at Hallsley. Eagle runs its own communities, including Readers Branch in Goochland.
Which of the three has the best warranty? Eagle is the only one that publishes its terms: the Eagle Advantage insured 1-2-10. Schell reports 10-year structural coverage without publishing terms, and Boone publishes none.
What do semi-custom homes cost in Richmond in 2026? Roughly $500,000 to $1.2 million depending on builder, community, and lot, with most Schell, Boone, and Eagle contracts landing between $600,000 and $1 million. Full custom in neighborhoods like Hallsley and Chesdin Landing generally starts around $800,000.
Comparing the semi-custom tier?
We can price the same plan changes across all three builders before you commit to any of them. Daniel Yoon is a Certified New Home Co-Broker, ABR, and SRS with eXp Realty; all three pay the buyer’s agent. Call or text 804.896.2694, or browse every new home in the region at showingnew.com/dyoonnewhomes.