How Much Does It Cost to Build a Custom House in Texas?

 People are building houses in Texas left and right. Some people already live in Texas and are looking for a newer or better house while others are moving into Texas from outside of the state. 

And we’re talking about a lot of people because Texas is the fastest growing state by population according to the 2020 census. Before any of these people actually start building a house in Texas they all spend time grappling with one key question: how much does it cost to build a custom house in Texas? The answer varies a lot because of so many factors that can impact the cost of building a custom house in Texas but this article will go over some of the main factors.

 A custom home builder in Houston, Texas, can expect to spend $300,000, for starters. Note this amount is only talking about the house itself and however much or little land that goes with the house is a completely separate cost. Houston, Texas, is a popular example because that is the fastest growing area of Texas in terms of population growth.

The age-old saying about location remains true today when it comes to real estate. The majority of custom homes built will cost between 30% more (or less) than $300,000 depending on what part of Texas the home is built. The convenience factor plays a big role in location. Will the house be near many grocery stores? Entertainmentvenues? Major highways? Typically the more convenient a location is, the higher the cost.

Cost of development is also impacted by location. Harder to reach areas, or more rural areas, require more development and that drives up the cost of the house. Is there already a road running to the site of where the house will be built? Is there plumbing? Is there electricity? Typically the farther away the site of the custom home is from these and other utilities, the higher the cost. Development costs can run upwards of $25,000 and are generally not costs that can be skipped, either due to local ordinance or pure necessity.

We’ve already discussed a base cost of around $300,000 to build a custom home in Texas. This amount stipulates that the parts of the house that will receive AC (air conditioning) will be about 2,800 square feet. There are so many potential options and upgrades that we do not have time to go through them all here but they can typically add upwards of $50,000 if the most costly options/upgrades are chosen. The last factor to consider is financing, where there would obviously be an additional cost if you build a custom house using money borrowed from a bank vs no extra cost if you use cash/savings.