About Us
About Us
We are passionate new home builders in Kirkland, Washington, constructing enduring, NW Contemporary homes that integrate today’s living nature into every design. When you care about the neighborhood and people, we believe design matters.
Although driven by the desire to create beauty in the community with thoughtfully designed properties, we intentionally tailor our homes around the way your family lives. Our homes are forward-leaning in style for the primary purpose of creating spaces that promote your expectations of exceptional quality and inspired living, with a focus on comfort, quality, and luxury. Merit Homes offers a wide array of intuitive floor plans for future living hand. Each plan has been crafted to capture every benefit of each specific homesite’s unique characteristics.
Our Commitment to Kirkland
For over 50 years, we have embraced the responsibility as home builders in Kirkland, acting as stewards for the land. This city is important to us. We strive to create a positive future for its residents by building exceptional quality NW Contemporary homes that contribute to the lives and families in the area.
We build exclusively in the Kirkland area and are dedicated to its future. We are an integral part of sustaining the community, contributing to the framework of the city through parks, sidewalks and infrastructure. We are proud of our continuous responsibility to the development of the thriving Kirkland area.
Our Process
We strive to evolve and improve upon the home buying experience through our accessible, dedicated and enjoyable process. Our team will guide you through pre-approval, available home designs, sales agreements, and new homeowner orientation. A new Merit Home awaits you in Kirkland.
Learn more about our history
Our Origins
Our rich history in Kirkland, WA starts all the way back in 1971, long before "Merit Homes," as you know it today, was even a concept. Our founder, Greg G., started out building single-family homes one at a time, with just himself and a laborer. You might be surprised to find out that we only used to build custom, Craftsman-style homes!
A Partnership of Merit
In 2001, Josh Lysen became interested in these new builds and convinced Greg to partner with him. They formed a land development company and formally became Merit Homes by the end of 2002. They successfully navigated through the 2008 recession without laying off any team members, and completed 8 homes that year.
2020 and beyond
In 2020, Greg retires and Josh comes the sole owner and president of Merit Homes. We hire an in-house sales agent, and we are small, but effective team of 16. We closed 25 homes, and successfully navigated the pandemic. By 2021, our team grew to 22 and we develop the Urban Series in an effort to provide more attainable, luxury housing options in Kirkland. We have 90 homes in the pipeline and look forward to building more NW Contemporary-style homes in our beautiful community.
Our Promise To You
Our promise to our buyers is to provide them with a home of enduring value.
Once we defined our passion and our promise, we knew we needed to surround ourselves with a great team that shares these values. The world does not need another average home builder. Our buyers deserve and will receive a great experience not only from us as leaders, but from everyone who represents Merit Homes, Inc.
Building Community: Our Dedication to Kirkland
As a local builder with our roots in Kirkland, we believe that a thriving community is raised upon a foundation of support, compassion, and collaboration. We understand the vital role that giving back plays in creating a stronger and more interconnected community. That's why we're proud to have been an active participant in the Kirkland community for decades, working hand in hand with organizations like Attain Housing to make a positive impact.
Attain Housing is an organization dedicated to helping families and individuals transition out of homelessness and into stable living environments. Our commitment to Attain Housing goes beyond financial contributions. We actively engage in volunteer opportunities, participate in fundraising events like the beloved 7 Hills of Kirkland Memorial Day Bike ride, and offer our resources to assist in their mission.
As we reflect on our journey of supporting Attain Housing and the Kirkland community, we're filled with gratitude for the progress we've made together. However, we recognize that our work is far from over, so we are excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and are committed to giving back.
We look forward to forging new partnerships and exploring innovative ways to serve those who need it most. If you're interested in having us volunteer at or sponsor an event in Kirkland or the surrounding areas, please email us at hello@merithomesinc.com.