If you are in the market for a home builder, it’s smart to know all of your options with the home building process. How can you decide whether a production home or custom home is right for you? Both types of builders can build a new home for you. But there are some key differences to keep in mind.
Production homes
For production homes, a building company buys large tracts of real estate and develops them into neighborhoods. This is why production homes are also sometimes called, “tract homes.” Then the company sells the lots in that neighborhood and builds houses for home buyers.
With a production home builder, the company buys materials in bulk. They offer a limited menu of possible house plans, finishes, hardware, and fixtures to their customers. Production builders build many houses at the same time, or around the same time, and deal in large volumes. They try to appeal to a wide audience with their designs and finishes.
Production home builders are able to save buyers some time because they are making so many similar houses one after the other. They use the same floor plans and materials and already have the materials in stock.
Because there are only a few floor plans, materials are bought in bulk, and the homes are built in a high volume, production homes offer some upfront money and time savings to home buyers.
The disadvantage of a production home is that you don’t have the freedom to design whatever you want. You are limited to certain plans, designs, and materials. You are also limited to certain neighborhoods and lots.
Custom homes
For custom homes, everything centers around the individual home buyer. The home buyer chooses a custom home builder and their own build site. The home buyer hires an architect to design their home, they design the home themselves, or they choose a house plan from the custom builder. Just about anything can be modified for the buyer.
An experienced custom home builder can offer a practically unlimited range of options to their customers. Other than zoning laws, building codes, and the home buyer’s own self-determined budget, there are no limits to what the buyer can choose. You get total say over the size and square footage. You choose the design and construction, materials, quality, finishes, hardware, and light fixtures and you aren’t limited to a few options.
When anything is custom made just for you, there are some additional costs upfront. But, because you get something that is exactly what you want and need, the chances that you will need to renovate or add on later are much less. So it is possible that building a custom home may actually save you money, stress, time, and hassle in the long run.
With custom homes, buyers have the freedom to build exactly what they want that will best suit their own needs. They choose the location. They choose all the details. They have total control over the design, finishes, and everything.
The ability to customize anything you want to, along with the buyer having the freedom of choice, are usually the reasons that people decide to build a custom home rather than a production home. They want something that is uniquely their own, that fits their particular needs and style.
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