Best Custom Home Builders in Houston
Best Custom Home Builders in Houston
The process of finding reputable, high-quality custom home builders in Houston can be a high-stakes experience. Along with the excitement of deciding to build a custom home, with a floor plan that is exactly what you want, you must then figure out who you will work with for construction.
To help you in the next phase of your project, we have compiled a list of some of the best custom home builders in Houston along with resources for planning and executing your project. Our list below highlights some of your options when considering who you may want to work with for your home build project. There are two types of companies on our list, design-build firms that can both design and then build your home, as well as architecture firms that primarily focus on the design of custom homes in Houston.
Additionally, to help you understand the process of building a custom home in Houston we have created a guide to building custom homes & guide to choosing a custom home builder. Another alternative to working with a Houston custom home builder is working with a Houston prefab home builder.
Houston Custom Home Builders
Depending on your situation, you may be looking to work either with an architect/designer and a separate construction company, or you might want to work with a full-service company that completes all stages of the process themselves. We have included a selection of custom home builders in and around Houston (both architects/design firms & full service builders) that can help you realize your dream of building a custom home.
Boxprefab & intexture - (Houston, TX)
Boxprefab is a home builder that specializes in prefabricated homes and ADUs. While they do offer several pre-engineered homes and floor plans, they also operate as a custom home builder. When building custom homes in Houston, they work with intexture as a custom design firm. Interestingly, Boxprefab is owned and operated by the owners and designers of intexture.
From a design standpoint, intexture and Boxprefab specialize in modern, sustainable architecture. Past projects have won awards for sustainable design. From a logistics standpoint, Boxprefab and intexture offer turn-key building services. This means that together, the two companies complete all stages of the home building process, including design, permitting, site work, manufacturing, and on-site assembly. While Boxprefab’s standard home designs start at $200 per square foot, it is likely that a custom home designed by intexture will likely cost significantly more than that.
Example of Work: Hunters Creek Memorial Home
Frankel Building Group - (Houston, TX)
Frankel Building Group is a Houston-based custom home designer. They have received numerous design awards, such as the NAHBs award for custom home builder of the year in 2021. While all of their projects are fully-custom, past design styles include modern, contemporary, transitional, traditional, and European-style houses.
Interestingly, Frankel Building Group also acts as a real estate developer and seller. This means that in addition to working with private clients who are looking to develop their own lot, they own the land and build their own custom homes, which they sell to buyers once the project is complete.
Frankel Building Group also offers a service called BuildFBG that uses lot and neighborhood requirements, budgetary requirements, and past project floor plans to guide buyers’ projects. While customers can make fully-custom modifications, this approach allows for an expedited custom home-building process. From the time the design process starts until homes are move-in ready often takes around 11 months. Additionally, BuildFBG homes come standard with features such as high-end appliances, hardwood floors, Marvin windows, and LEED certifiable building envelopes.
From a scope of work standpoint, it is worth noting that Frankel Building Group is only an architecture and design firm. Therefore, you must work with an outside contractor to complete the construction of your Houston custom home.
Example of Work: Caruthers
Fairmont Homes (Richmond, Texas)
Fairmont Homes is a design-build firm that serves the greater-Houston area. As a design-build firm they can work with buyers to both create a unique home design and also construct the home themselves. From a design perspective, their homes often feature a mixture of traditional and country-inspired architecture. Many of their past projects utilize ranch and farmhouse architecture.
When determining if Fairmount Homes is a good fit for your project, it is important to point out that they have received multiple 5-star reviews and multiple awards from the home builder review site, Houzz. Another thing to ask, is as a smaller home builder, if they are currently taking on new projects or if there is a queue of projects waiting to be completed.
Example of Work: Sugar Maple
Alleanza Custom Homes (Houston, Texas)
Alleanza Custom Homes is a home builder that specializes in fully custom homes. Since the company’s founding in 2007, they have built over 50 custom houses in the greater-Houston area, with design aesthetics including modern, contemporary, and farmhouse architecture.
From a cost standpoint, while all projects are fully custom, meaning that the budget is highly-dependent on the needs of your project, their past homes typically start at $1 million in cost. It is also worth noting that they are a full-service design-build firm, meaning that they can both design a custom floor plan as well as execute the build phase of the project.
Example of Work: West Residence
Resources for Working With Custom Home Builders in Houston and Building a Custom Home in Houston
Finding Custom Home Builders in Houston
When speaking with custom home builders in Houston, there are several things you might want to ask in order to assess project-builder fit. These key questions include:
Operational History - How long have they been in business? Do they have positive reviews? Can you speak to past clients?
Cost - How much do they estimate your project will cost? Do they have a history of staying on-time and under budget?
Location - Are they located nearby to your project site? Are they familiar with local regulations?
To help you search for contractors and custom home builders in Houston, helpful resources include:
Greater Houston Home Builders Association has an online search tool for searching for specialists like home designers, custom home builders in Houston, general contractors, and more
Google Maps - Google can be a helpful resource for finding custom home builders that are located within your area of Houston
Friends & Family - while this might not be as tech-forward as some of the other methods, this can be a trusted way of finding a quality builder with good recommendations
Resources for Building a Custom Home in Houston
In addition to finding the right custom home builder in Houston, it is also important to understand your local building laws and how those might affect your project. To help, we have compiled a list (with links) of some of the larger building and planning departments in the Houston area.