The process of a home construction journey begins with searching for home builders near me.
The goal is to research a list of professional Houston home builders near me that you think will provide you the product and service you expect.
Conducting due diligence during your home builder selection process is required regardless of who may have referred your builder to you.
There are many different types of home builders that provide various products and services.
There are multiple key factors to a successful residential building contractor search like understanding your housing needs, the extent of your financial capabilities and the location you wish to live.
Once you have done a good thorough public background check it is time to begin working towards your short list of professional accredited and reputable new residential builder candidates.
This requires a series of interviews to vet your initial list of home builders near me.
Your goal is to reduce your home builders near me list to 2 or 3 likely candidates that you feel are like minded and will serve your interest.
Balancing the builder’s key attributes of your ideal builder with your personal service needs and finished construction products is not always an easy task.
Breaking down builder prices and assessing the value through comparative shopping can be misleading and is often challenging getting them to prepare bid proposals in a consistent format.
In addition, builders use different materials and products if not strictly defined in the plan specifications.
So, in many cases the owners exercise of attempting to compare apples to apples results in comparing apples to bananas.
Learn About the Attributes and Factors of Evaluating Home Builders Near Me
Home Prices
Home prices are a reflection of the cost of materials, labor, building site land, and the builder’s overhead and profit.
More specifically the builder’s target market prices are aimed toward the demographic demand of the local sales market.
New house values represent the immediate housing market prices for both new home inventory and alternative housing resales of existing residential dwelling options.
In major residential building markets like Houston, Texas, the land plays a huge factor in the total market selling price.
Residential builders in suburban or rural communities will typically have a lower price per square foot than new houses being offered in the metro neighborhoods.
This is due principally to the value of land. The closer a buyer building site location gets to the central area of metro Houston, the higher the land cost and thus, the less affordable new houses become.
One way residential contractors in the metro areas of the city can make houses more affordable is by making the house building lot sizes smaller when possible.
If the builders can increase the land density of houses, they effectively reduce the price of each building lot.
This can be challenging for buyers attempting to purchase a lot in existing developed neighborhoods where deed restrictions impose limitations on such matters.
If the deed restrictions do not allow subdividing the lot, the density can not be changed.
There are other strategies that residential builders use to reduce the price point in areas where the price of land is high.
One such strategy is reducing the total square footage of the dwelling or reducing the amount of under roof square footage to living square footage.
Another such approach is building vertically instead of horizontally, hence building two / three story instead of one-story buildings.
This strategy accommodates both using less land and reducing construction costs.
The construction cost reduction is due to the fact that two / three story structures are more cost effective to build than one-story structures, assuming the same square footage.
Construction prices continue to rise for existing housing as well as new houses. There is a sensitive balance between new prices and existing dwelling prices.
There is also a price tipping point where buyers are willing to purchase older houses rather than new homes, because buyers do not see the value in the price difference.
The same relationship exists when new building prices are near the market prices of existing homes.
The ultimate three factors that directly affect sales of a home’s prices are a) the continual housing pricing changes, b) the interest rates, and c) the buyer’s perception of value.
These natural economic forces are always a factor for buyers when evaluating housing price options.
Home Value Defined
The value of a residential property is a part financial matrix and part emotional desire of a property buyer.
The financial mechanisms for evaluating the value of residential properties include appraisals, neighborhood research, and a close inspection of the condition of the property.
Property appraisal is a common method of assessing the condition and value of existing homes.
This method is not as effective with new home construction because there are not always comparable sales in the area.
There are different levels of appraisals.
In simple terms, there are formal appraisals conducted by certified appraisers and there is an opinion of value, usually performed by licensed real estate professionals.
The formal appraisal will usually have a greater amount of detail, but either appraisal will use the recent sales of nearby comparable properties.
For a deeper dive into the topic of Houston home values.
The buyer should always evaluate the neighborhood they are considering buying or building in.
Researching the deed restrictions, the level of care of the surrounding houses, and the general curb appeal of the neighborhood should always be taken into consideration.
The deed restrictions and the property survey play an important role if the owners are planning to build on a potential building site.
Commonly there is an HOA that is required to approve the plans and colors of the proposed custom house property.
In the case of custom construction, in most communities, HOA approval is required before the property can apply for a building permit.
When a buyer has made an offer and is preparing their due diligence, the normal process warrants hiring professional inspectors.
These inspectors will not only report on the working condition of the house’s components but can research the age and likely obsolescence of the home’s components.
This is key for the buyer in evaluating the likely required home improvement investment over the next 5 to 10 years.
These component replacement investments should be factored into the total acquisition price of the property and compared to both building a new structure and other available alternatives.
Owners’ Misconceptions of Home Builders
Not all builders are alike. Home builders operate like general contractors, whereas they hire skilled trades as subcontractors to perform the task required to build their houses.
Depending upon the types of housing products, business size, and services they offer, a professional home building company will staff to fit their target market needs.
The service requirements to build houses are architectural services, procurement for materials & labor, management and sales & marketing, and financial.
Larger production builders will expand into new markets through the acquisition or starting up of a new division.
They will have a local architect commissioned to create a group of building plan designs that meet a specific price point for their local target market.
They will enter an agreement with a developer to buy lots monthly or they might buy and develop the raw land themselves.
The builders will then build some models and begin to market and sell their products to their defined demographic customers.
All builders allow their clients to select decorator colors such as countertops, floor materials, and exterior colors.
Some contractors will offer the ability to make structural changes to their building plans.
Unless these builders are custom home builders, normally residential builders do not like to make structural changes to their houses.
As a general rule, the more expensive the price point the greater the amount of changes the builder will allow.
When buyers are seeking custom construction, the rules and processes change dramatically and so does the building price.
Custom homes are normally designed to fit on a specific lot. All products are specifically selected & purchased by the custom builder.
There are many differences between custom builders and general residential construction company.
The most significant difference is that the custom buyer is involved in both the design and construction of the new residence.
Custom houses are more expensive houses than production builder homes or semi-custom homes.
This is due to the cost of the custom builder’s services, the higher cost of products and materials used, the unique architectural challenges that labor must meet, and the cost of the land.
Custom houses are typically one-of-a-kind home designs. The more unique the structures design the higher the price.
To learn more about the custom home builders construction process.
Ability to Serve Clients
The distinctive difference between builders is the services that they offer to buyers.
These services are often reflected in the price of the dwelling. In most cases the greater the price, the greater the services.
Although this is not always true and requires the buyer to do their homework.
With the advent of the internet, public opinions have been much easier to find about the quality and service of builders.
Getting a clear understanding of the level of services that you are expecting from your contractor is essential to avoid a disappointing experience.
Aligning the buyer’s interest with the right builder will be both rewarding and emotionally enjoyable.
With that said it is important to get to know your contractor well before you hire them.
Conclusion
Researching a home builder near me that fits your needs is certainly a good place to start, provided you understand the differences between the products and services offered by Houston Builders.
If you are considering residential buildings, the reputation of the builder is necessary to clearly appreciate what you can expect from them.
The buyer aligning their expectations with the builder’s product and service is a must and will often be the most important factor in determining the right house builder for you.
For a collection of builders resources and more insights for custom home building visit custom home construction.
