New Construction Homes

Why Now Is the Best Time to Buy New Construction in El Paso

Now is the best time to buy a new construction home in El Paso, Texas. With economic uncertainty, builders are limiting the number of homes they build and focusing on selling their current inventory, which creates great opportunities for buyers. New construction offers several distinct advantages over resale homes, especially in today's market.

Builder Incentives

One of the main reasons this is an excellent time to purchase new construction is the incentive packages builders are offering. Many builders are actively moving current inventory, including move-in ready homes that are 2 to 4 months out from completion. To attract buyers, they're offering substantial incentives: typically 3% of the sales price to cover your closing costs, with many adding another 3% to buy down your interest rate.

This contrasts sharply with the COVID period when builders had little incentive to negotiate. You had to wait about a year and build from the ground up with no options. Today's market has flipped-builders have significant inventory and are competing aggressively. Some incentives come with a preferred lender requirement, while others are available with any lender, depending on the builder.

Comparing New Construction to Resale

When buying resale homes, sellers rarely offer concessions to help with closing costs. That extra financial help from builders to buy down your interest rate and cover closing costs can make a real difference in whether you can afford the home.

Another major advantage: builders always pay the buyer's agent commission in new construction transactions. With resale homes, sellers aren't really required to pay for buyer's agent representation, leaving you to cover that cost yourself. Having strong representation is crucial in either scenario, but new construction protects your interests without additional cost.

Warranties and Condition

Resale homes are sold as-is, and you might negotiate certain repairs if you're lucky. New construction is completely different. Everything is brand new. You'll do a final walkthrough to ensure the house meets standards, and every builder offers multiple warranties-typically one year, three years, and six years, with the six-year warranty covering the foundation. This peace of mind is invaluable and something you won't get with a resale home.

Landscape and Curb Appeal

With a resale home, you never know the condition of the landscaping. It might be beautifully maintained or neglected, which directly affects curb appeal and home value. New construction builders either provide a credit for landscaping so you can work with a company you trust, or they've already completed the landscaping. This removes worry about front curb appeal-it's handled by the builder.

Inventory and Future Market Conditions

Right now there's significantly more inventory and availability in new construction, especially for move-in ready homes. If the economy roughens and builders decide to reduce construction, inventory will drop and prices will rise. The incentives currently offered won't remain at these levels. Acting now provides better selection and more favorable terms.

Spec Builders vs. Custom Home Builders

When purchasing new construction, you'll choose between spec builders and custom home builders. The main difference is price and customization options. Spec builder homes typically range from around $230,000 and up, while custom homes start closer to $600,000 and go higher.

With spec builder homes, you might have five to seven identical floor plans. Your choices are limited to pre-selected options like cabinet colors and tiles. If you purchase a home already several months into construction, you won't be able to make selections on colors or finishes-those are already determined from the start.

Custom home builders offer far more flexibility. Starting around $600,000, you can customize nearly everything. These builders have design teams that help you create your ideal home. You can bring pictures and references for backyards, kitchens, and bedrooms, specifying room dimensions and exact preferences. They'll customize the home to your exact liking.

The Right Time to Buy

Right now is the best time to look into new construction, whether you're considering a spec builder or custom home. The incentives are excellent, inventory is available, and indicators suggest that in the near future, inventory will drop and prices will rise. If you're thinking about buying a home in El Paso, Texas, reach out and we'll help you find the perfect home.

How Much Does It Cost to Build a Custom Home in El Paso?

Welcome to our newest listing in Simmeron Canyon on the west side. Today we're going to talk about what it costs to build a custom home in El Paso. We're doing this at 7437 Caves and Court, a beautiful custom home recently completed by one of the builders we'll discuss, and now on the market for sale.

Understanding Custom Homes vs. Spec Homes

There are spec builders who construct homes typically in the $250,000 to $400,000 range with limited customization options-you might choose some colors and finishes, but that's about it.

Custom homes are completely different. A custom home is a home where you have control over so many variables. You can customize the layout, finishes, tiles, countertops, colors, lighting-essentially everything.

Some of the custom builders we like include Deal to Deal, which built the home we're showing you today. Home Icon is another excellent custom builder. We also really like a smaller El Paso builder called Crown Heritage Custom Homes. All three produce beautiful homes.

Pricing Custom Homes

Custom homes are more expensive than spec homes, but you get what you pay for. Here are statistics from Icon, which we believe are similar across other builders.

To build a custom Icon home in El Paso, you need a minimum of 2,500 square feet. Icon and other custom builders won't build tiny houses. With that minimum square footage, the current estimated price for the home itself starts around $175 to $180 per square foot.

For a 2,500-square-foot home, that's approximately $438,000. However, you also have to add the cost of the lot.

East Side Pricing: On the east side, Far East, or Horizon City, lots are more affordable, starting around $80,000 to $87,000. Add that to the home cost: $87,000 plus $438,000 equals approximately $525,000 to build a custom Icon home on the east side-basic but custom.

West Side Pricing: On the west side, perhaps in Simmeron Canyon or Enchanted Hills, that same lot costs almost twice as much-about $170,000. Adding that to the $438,000 home cost, you're looking at approximately $610,000 to build a custom Icon home on the west side.

If You Have Your Own Lot: If you own land already, you'll still pay that $175 to $180 per square foot for construction, but you'll also pay for soil testing and prep work the builder needs to ready your lot.

Financial Considerations

You'll need to put down a deposit, typically 3% to 8% of the total cost depending on the builder and home size.

If you want to get creative and combine two lots into one, you'll pay another $12,000 to $13,000 to go through permitting and other processes-still a viable option.

After paying for the lot and obtaining pre-approval, you'll meet with the design team. Then the project goes into architectural drafting. The entire process typically takes 10 to 12 months from beginning to end.

Customization Options

If you start modifying the home's layout, it will cost more money. Most builders have set floor plans you can choose from, and you can make alterations, but moving rooms around or opening up spaces will add to costs. That said, the standard plans offered are already quite amazing. Most customization happens through finishes and features rather than structural changes.

Here's a rundown of customization options:

- EV charging pre-wire in the garage (this home has that) - Dedicated circuits for 120 or 220 volts-useful if you have an RV or run machinery - Holiday lighting pre-wire for Christmas lights - Shutters - Fancy rolling blinds on windows - Cabinet hardware upgrades - Tile throughout instead of carpet-you choose the type - Garage insulation - Elaborate landscape designs - Different bathtub styles - Barn doors - Additional shower heads or doggy showers - Water softeners - Reverse Osmosis systems - Oversized or specialty sliding doors to the backyard - Skylights - Nearly unlimited customization options

One popular feature is financing a swimming pool. Most builders don't construct pools themselves; you hire whoever you want. A nice swimming pool currently costs at least $50,000 to start. The average runs $70,000 to $80,000, though elaborate pools with caves, swings, and slides cost significantly more.

This home features upgraded appliances-not average appliances but really fancy ones. The buyer chose different light fixtures and colors, customizing essentially everything.

Making the Decision

Building a custom home is a dream for some people. You have total design control. In El Paso, custom homes start at a bare minimum of $525,000 on the east side and $600,000 on the west side. They scale up dramatically from there-we've seen $700,000, $800,000, $900,000, and even $1 million builds.

If you're interested in building a custom home in El Paso, reach out to us.

Custom vs. Spec Builders in El Paso: What's the Difference?

When you're buying a new home in El Paso, one of the biggest decisions is choosing between a custom home builder and a spec builder. These two approaches are fundamentally different, and understanding the distinction can save you money, frustration, and potential problems down the road.

What's a Custom Home Builder?

A custom home builder constructs fewer homes each year-sometimes just 20 or so-and focuses on building homes more to your exact specifications and liking. Yes, custom homes are more expensive because you're paying for customization and better quality construction overall. The quality of the build is typically much better, and that's something we're going to dive into in detail.

What's a Spec Builder?

A spec builder, on the other hand, builds hundreds of homes per year with limited customization options. About the only choices you might get are paint colors and similar cosmetic options. While spec builders can make homes available faster and at lower prices, they sacrifice quality and customization to maximize efficiency and profit.

Inside a Custom Build: Crown Heritage Homes

To show you the real difference, we toured a beautiful custom home built by Crown Heritage Homes. Lauren from Crown Heritage walked us through the specifics of their construction quality. Crown Heritage builds only about 20 homes a year, and that hands-on approach shows in every detail.

#### Window Installation

One of the first things Lauren pointed out was how they handle window installation. Most builders install windows at the very edge of the wall stud because it's more cost-effective. However, this leaves homes more prone to water leakage-if there's even a small crack in the stucco, water will penetrate through. Crown Heritage recesses all of their windows slightly into the wall to prevent water from penetrating and causing water damage.

#### Stucco Quality

Another major difference is stucco quality. Standard builders apply a layer of brown stucco (cement-like base) and cover it with layers of paint. Crown Heritage goes further: they apply the brown stucco layer, add a texture layer that's uniform and hides any future cracks, and then apply three coats of elastomeric paint instead of the typical two coats. Elastomeric paint has elasticity that helps with temperature swings and reduces stucco cracks, which can be very costly to repair later.

#### Interior Design and Features

The homes come with designer details throughout. The home we toured featured: - An oversized skylight flooding the main entrance with natural light - Designer walls with textured vinyl wall covering - 12-foot ceilings in the living space and kitchen - Stainless steel appliances and unique decorative light fixtures in every Crown Heritage home - A well-mounted tub filler and freestanding soaking tub that's now a standard feature - Above-counter vessel sinks with 12-inch vessel faucets - An oversized mirror - Quartz countertops - A dedicated makeup space in the primary bathroom with custom cabinetry - An owner's spa shower with oversized 24 by 24-inch polished porcelain tile - A floating glass panel and floating glass shower door

#### Closet Design

In closets and pantry spaces, Crown Heritage installs rigid custom trimmed built-in shelving made of actual wood, which provides sturdy support for heavy items like KitchenAid mixers. In secondary bedrooms, they use double-door closet doors instead of sliding doors that can fall off the track. They've even upgraded from ball catcher hooks to magnet hooks at the top of closet doors to protect the wood and avoid damage.

#### Fireplace and Dry Bar

The fireplace designs are customized rather than just mounted directly into the sheetrock. They use floor-to-ceiling designs with oversized 24 by 24-inch polished porcelain tile in a serene sandy finish. If the home includes a dry bar area, they use the same tile along with floating shelves, quartz countertops, and built-in cabinetry to match the kitchen.

#### Structural Integrity

What really sets Crown Heritage apart is their use of OSB (oriented strand board) sheathing throughout the entire home. OSB is made of wood chips bound by an adhesive agent and provides the best structural sheathing material available. While it's required for bracing, many builders cut costs by using cheaper sheathing materials on the actual walls. Crown Heritage sheathes the entire home in OSB to create a sturdier structure that settles more uniformly, reducing stucco cracks and preventing structural problems down the line.

The Company Behind the Quality

Crown Heritage Homes has been in business for 22 years. They're a medium-sized builder that deliberately limits themselves to about 20 homes per year because being hands-on with project design is very important to them. The actual quality and construction of their homes is paramount. They use grade-A Pella Windows and sliding glass doors, and every detail receives attention.

The Comparison

The old adage "you get what you pay for" is absolutely true when comparing custom and spec builders. A custom home costs significantly more, but you're investing in better construction quality, superior materials, and design details that will last. The differences in window placement, stucco thickness and quality, material selections, and structural integrity compound over time, potentially saving you thousands in repairs and giving you a better-built home overall.

If you're considering a new build in El Paso, especially with a spec builder, make sure you check out next week's episode where we feature a military couple who experienced significant problems with their new spec home. Their story really illustrates why the difference matters.