We've been doing research on homebuilders in College Station like Marriott, Ridgewood, Pittman, Magruder, etc. Does anyone know what a reasonable price per square foot estimate not including the lot would be? Looking at a "build on your own lot" scenario. TIA!!

We moved into a custom home built by one of the builders on your list about four months ago. Depending on the amenities you want in your home and with the current price of materials you are probably looking at a minimum of $200-$250+per square foot.

What a bargain

I'm using a builder that's less expensive than those on your list and my build will be about $180+/ft. Site prep and utilities can be significant.

We built with Raven Homes about 2 years ago. Built on our own lot and with a completely custom floor plan. (Designed it ourselves, but it's fairly simple layout) Our cost was about $180/sq ft.

My best advice is to have a layout in mind, or even a floor plan with measurements. Have a good idea of your wanted finish outs and up grades. Then take that list to at least 3 builders for a quote. The more details you have up front the better to "apples to apples" quotes.

Second advice is to tour the houses of your possible builders in various phases of construction. You can see how they frame out, how they insulate, how their subs work, how clean they keep their job sites. Job sites can say a lot about the builder and their oversight and attention to details.

Appreciate the information everyone!

Stu - care to share who y'all are using?

To OP - we were getting pretty deep in builder interviews but COVID made us decide to stay put for the time being with potential job loss concerns. You need to determine your definition of "custom" - most of the builders you noted above are semi-custom meaning you choose one of their layouts and pick finishes. They will absolutely do a full custom but be prepared to pay and there generally seemed to be overall apathy on their part to jump into this type of project - we had one basically tell us they're plenty busy without our job. It was a pretty frustrating process but we were quickly able to determine who would be worth partnering with and who wasn't. Walking job sites was also a good indicator of quality - Parade of Homes was good but you see their best, staged product vs. walking job sites gives you more reality.

Prior to lumber prices skyrocketing, we were seeing over $200/sf for a true custom option (our floor plan on our already-owned lot). Prices were a little more reasonable with some of the larger guys that build in this area but office out of the larger cities but you then have concerns about oversight on the project.

Definitely plan to put some efforts into researching, interviewing, references, etc. You'll eventually get into a rhythm and be able to make a decision on who the best fit will be for you.

2007fightintexasaggie said:

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Stu - care to share who y'all are using?

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Campbell Homes out of Franklin

Thanks for sharing!

2007fightintexasaggie said:

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Stu - care to share who y'all are using?

To OP - we were getting pretty deep in builder interviews but COVID made us decide to stay put for the time being with potential job loss concerns. You need to determine your definition of "custom" - most of the builders you noted above are semi-custom meaning you choose one of their layouts and pick finishes. They will absolutely do a full custom but be prepared to pay and there generally seemed to be overall apathy on their part to jump into this type of project - we had one basically tell us they're plenty busy without our job. It was a pretty frustrating process but we were quickly able to determine who would be worth partnering with and who wasn't. Walking job sites was also a good indicator of quality - Parade of Homes was good but you see their best, staged product vs. walking job sites gives you more reality.

Prior to lumber prices skyrocketing, we were seeing over $200/sf for a true custom option (our floor plan on our already-owned lot). Prices were a little more reasonable with some of the larger guys that build in this area but office out of the larger cities but you then have concerns about oversight on the project.

Definitely plan to put some efforts into researching, interviewing, references, etc. You'll eventually get into a rhythm and be able to make a decision on who the best fit will be for you.

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Thanks for the input. We're looking more semi-custom, where we'll try to find one their layouts we like and make minor tweaks to accommodate our needs. I spoke with one of them today and he told me $180-$185 / square is a good estimate using one of his existing floor plans.

Check out Oakwood Custom Homes