In Westhaven, new construction sold for about $538 per square foot and resale for about $469 per square foot in the 12 months ending July 31, 2026, based on our analysis of Realtracs MLS closed sales. That is roughly a 15% premium for new, or about $240,000 more on a 3,500 square foot home.

Price is only one of three things that decide this purchase. The other two are time and negotiating room, and where inside Westhaven the house actually sits. This guide covers all three, then the costs that follow you after closing: HOA dues by home type, the transfer fee, the golf club, and property taxes, including why a new-construction listing can show a tax figure that is nowhere near what you will pay.

New Construction vs Resale in Westhaven: The Numbers

Westhaven is Southern Land Company’s master-planned community on the west side of Franklin, about three miles from downtown off Highway 96. Home sales began in 2003, there are about 2,500 homes today, and the developer plans about 3,500 single-family homes, townhomes and condominiums by the time it expects to finish, in 2031. That unfinished land is why the new-versus-resale choice exists at all: Westhaven is still selling brand-new houses next to streets that are more than 20 years old.

Resale single-family homes in the 12 months ending July 31, 2026 ranged from about $950,000 to just under $6 million. If your budget is around $1.5 million, you are shopping below the resale average of about $1.6 million with plenty of choice, but you are not at the top of Westhaven.

Source: Realtracs MLS closed sales, Hetherington Team analysis. Price per square foot and averages cover the 12 months ending July 31, 2026; negotiation and timing figures are from the same analysis, published September 2026.

What the 15% Premium Buys, and What It Does Not

The premium buys new windows, a new roof, new HVAC and a new kitchen in a house no one has lived in. When buyers truly want new, that matters to them, and we understand why.

What the premium does not buy is a finished home. A new Westhaven house usually closes without window treatments, finished landscaping beyond the basics, a fence or extra patio space. Those are real costs after closing, and they arrive while you are also paying for the move. A resale home almost always has them done.

Resale has its own trap. On a recent showing, our buyers walked through one of the first homes built in Westhaven, about 23 years old, with a 12-year-old HVAC system and the original kitchen. Once they priced the updates, it no longer made sense for them. Lorene’s view from selling both: the strongest financial package is often a home around 10 years old that has already had some updates. You skip the new-construction premium and most of the post-closing spending, without inheriting a 20-year-old kitchen.

New construction here is mostly built ahead of the buyer

Under about $2 million, new construction in Westhaven works much like buying a spec home. Builders put homes up in sections and list them close to completion, so the finishes are already chosen. They are professionally designed and neutral, but if you want to sit with a builder and pick every light fixture and backsplash, that is not how most of Westhaven’s new inventory is sold. Some homes are already under construction and not yet on the MLS, which is why we ask buyers about their timing early.

Speed and Negotiating Room

Resale homes in Westhaven move quickly, about 25 days on market on average in our September 2026 analysis, and they closed at about 96% of their original asking price. On a $1.65 million home that is about $66,000 off the first price.

New construction closes at close to full price. Builders hold their prices because every discount becomes the next buyer’s comparable sale, and that protects values across the neighborhood. The room to negotiate is in the terms instead: we have seen builders pay closing costs, fund an interest rate buy-down, or cover a period of HOA dues. When we checked the developer’s site in October 2026, it was advertising two years of HOA dues paid on select townhomes. So there is room on both sides, and usually a little more on resale.

Where Inside Westhaven You Will Live

This is the factor most buyers skip, and it can matter more than the price per square foot.

• Established streets. Resale homes range from a few years old to more than 20, on finished streets with mature trees and completed landscaping. On some of them you are about a five-minute walk from Front Street, the town center with the grocery store and restaurants.
• The building sections. Most new construction today is in sections farther from the town center and from most of the pools and amenities. Construction will continue around them for several more years, with the trucks and noise that come with it.
• Lot size everywhere. Most Westhaven lots average about a fifth of an acre, so yards are small on both sides of this decision. If you want an acre, Westhaven is the wrong neighborhood and our Franklin luxury neighborhoods comparison covers the gated, larger-lot alternatives.

For the day-to-day picture of the village center, trails, pools and events, read What Is It Like to Live in Westhaven. For a walkable alternative, Lorene compares the two directly in her Westhaven vs Berry Farms video.

Westhaven HOA Fees in 2026

The most common single-family HOA dues reported on Westhaven listings were about $250 to $265 a month as of September 2026. Dues vary by home type and by section, so the number on the specific listing is the one that counts.

Source: The Hetherington Team’s reading of dues reported on Westhaven listings, September 2026. We could not find a fee schedule published by the association; confirm the dues for any specific home in writing before you offer.

What the dues cover

The dues pay for the Residents Club, where the workout classes and the larger pool are, and for the smaller adult pool. Residents also use the trails, parks, tennis and pickleball courts that run through the community.

The transfer fee

A one-time transfer fee is paid to the association at closing when a Westhaven home sells. The amount is not published in one place and the figures that appear on individual listings are not consistent, so we confirm the exact amount on any home before you write an offer rather than quoting a percentage that may not apply.

The golf club is a separate membership

The Westhaven Golf Club, an 18-hole, par 72 course designed by Arthur Hills, is a private club with its own membership options, initiation and dues. Golf is not included in HOA dues, so budget for it separately if you plan to play.

Condos and Townhomes in Westhaven

About 80 condos and townhomes sold in Westhaven in the 12 months before our September 2026 analysis, from about $600,000 to more than $1.8 million, with an average of about $880,000. About a third of them were new construction.

The trade is simple: you pay much less for the property and much more each month. Dues of about $600 to $800 a month stay with the home for as long as you own it, for the same pools, club and pickleball courts single-family owners use. We always put the dues into the monthly payment when comparing a townhome to a single-family home here.

The Age-Restricted Section

Westhaven includes a section restricted to residents 55 and older, at the southeast corner of Mack Hatcher Memorial Parkway and Highway 96. The developer advertises single-family homes there from $1 million, as well as townhomes, with full lawn maintenance provided for every home. Typical dues were about $600 a month with lawn care included as of September 2026.

The section’s own club, the Astor Club, is part of the Astor Club and Residences project, which Southern Land Company said in April 2025 was slated for completion by fall 2027. Its planned amenities include indoor and outdoor pools, fitness and yoga studios and pickleball courts, available to homeowners in the section. Until it opens, residents use the main Westhaven amenities. If this section is on your list, call us before you tour; its rules, dues and timing differ from the rest of Westhaven.

Property Taxes, and the New-Construction Tax Line

Westhaven is inside the City of Franklin and is served by Williamson County Schools, so a Westhaven home pays the county rate for Franklin outside the Franklin Special School District, $1.27 per $100 of assessed value in 2026, plus the City of Franklin rate of $0.296. Together that is $1.566 per $100 of assessed value, and residential property in Tennessee is assessed at 25% of its appraised value.

These are estimates. The bill is based on the county’s appraised value, which can differ from the price you pay.

Why a new-construction listing can show a tax of $1

Tennessee assesses property as of January 1. If a house was not finished on January 1, the county assessed only the land and the materials in place on that date, so the tax figure on a new-construction listing, whether it shows $1 or a land-only amount, does not reflect the finished house. That is not your future tax. Under Tennessee law, when a new home is completed after January 1 and before September 1, the added value is assessed and prorated for the rest of that year, and the following year’s bill reflects the full house. Budget from the formula above, not from the listing.

Sources: Williamson County, 2026 Property Tax Rates (county rate inside Franklin city limits without FSSD, and the City of Franklin rate, collected by the Williamson County Trustee); Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, How to Calculate Your Tax Bill (25% residential assessment ratio); University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service, Assessing Improvements, citing Tenn. Code Ann. 67-5-603. This is general information, not tax or legal advice; confirm the figures for a specific parcel with the Williamson County Trustee or Assessor of Property.

Frequently Asked Questions About Westhaven New Construction, Resale and HOA Fees