Short version On the home itself, our published pricing runs from about $268,000 for our smallest plan (a 1,362-square-foot ranch) to about $990,000 for our largest (a 5,880-square-foot two-story). On a per-heated-square-foot basis, that’s roughly $130–$230, with most plans landing between $150 and $200. Those numbers are for the house only — the lot is separate, sitework is included in our scope but reviewed per lot, and you can take the spec further in either direction with selections and upgrades. Pricing is subject to change (trade partners and material costs move, sometimes on short notice), and the final number firms up after your selections — but we publish pricing because the cost conversation should happen up front, not after you’re emotionally invested. Here’s the full picture.
So how much does a custom home actually cost?
It depends on the plan, its size, and what you do with the spec. Across the plans we’ve priced so far, pricing currently runs from the high-$200,000s up to just under $1,000,000. The biggest driver is square footage. Our Sycamore ranch is 1,362 heated square feet and starts around $268,000. Our Chestnut two-story is 3,227 heated square feet and lands near $510,000. Our White Oak two-story — our largest plan — is 5,880 heated square feet at about $990,000. Most of our plans price between $150 and $200 per heated square foot, with smaller plans toward the higher end of that range and larger plans toward the lower end (a fixed cost spread over more square footage). These are starting numbers — they get refined after we evaluate your specific lot and finalize your selections, and they’re subject to change as material and trade-partner costs move — but the starting point is real, and it’s published.
Square footage drives the number more than anything else. Most of our plans land between $150 and $200 per heated square foot — smaller plans sit toward the top of that range, larger plans toward the bottom.
What’s actually in that price?
The home itself, built to our included spec. That covers everything in our included features — structural construction, interior finishes (Aristokraft full-overlay cabinets with soft-close, quartz countertops in every kitchen and bathroom, full tile shower and tub surrounds, smooth-finish walls, Sherwin Williams paint), the energy package (R-15 walls, R-38 attic, PlyGem windows, Lennox HVAC), smart features (a Honeywell TH2320 Wi-Fi thermostat and a LiftMaster Secure View garage opener), all the electrical and exterior items, and a sitework scope that includes survey, soil testing, septic design, well drilling up to 300 feet, conventional septic installation, utility connections, lot clearing, and a starter landscaping package. Sitework is subject to a site-specific review because no two lots are identical — that’s the one part of the price that flexes based on what your specific lot actually needs.
What’s not in that price?
The lot. Our published pricing is for the home only. Triangle lots vary widely — an in-fill lot in central Raleigh, a one-acre lot in Apex or Holly Springs, and a five-acre rural lot out in Chatham or Nash county will all sit at very different price points. The lot is its own transaction, and we’ll walk it with you before you put it under contract (more on that in what to actually look for in a buildable lot).
Also not in the base price: anything you choose to upgrade beyond the included spec. Engineered hardwood instead of LVP, custom-shop cabinetry instead of Aristokraft, fiber cement siding, a screened porch, plan modifications, raised ceilings, reconfigured layouts — these are conversations we have during design, and they show up as line items on top of the base price. We’ll price them as we go so there are no surprises.
What changes the number for your build?
Four things, mostly — and the one most in your control is the last one, your selections. That’s the lever that turns a published starting price into your final number.
- Plan size — square footage is the single biggest driver. Roughly doubling the footprint roughly doubles the home price.
- Plan complexity — a single-story ranch generally runs less per square foot than a two-story with a complex roofline, lots of structural transitions, or unusual ceiling heights.
- Lot conditions — a lot needing an engineered septic system, significant grading, retaining walls, or long utility runs costs more to develop than a flat lot with good soils. See our drain field deep-dive for the marginal-soil scenarios.
- Finish upgrades — anything you take beyond the included spec. For where the dollars actually go on the upgrade side, see the real difference between builder-grade and custom.
Plan modifications are worth flagging separately: structural changes to a plan add about eight weeks to the timeline and have their own cost implications, which is one reason we encourage clients to start with a plan they like and modify it where it matters most rather than starting from a blank sheet. For more on the time side, see our post on how long a custom home actually takes.
Why do you publish your pricing at all?
Because the cost conversation is the first one most buyers actually want to have, and most custom builders dodge it. We’d rather you see the number on day one, decide whether it makes sense for you, and then have a real conversation about your specific lot and selections — than walk you through a two-month sales process before you find out the range was never going to work. Our pricing is published, our included spec is published, and the math from one to the other isn’t a black box.
Two honest caveats. First, pricing is subject to change — we build with real trade partners and real materials, and those costs move, sometimes on short notice. Second, the number firms up once your selections are final. Neither of those is a reason to hide the starting point; it’s a reason to be clear about what it is. That’s part of what we mean when we say we build with intention and finish with quality — it applies to the cost conversation too.
One more thing that shapes the number: we quote an all-in price, not “cost-plus.” Most custom builders tally their costs and add a margin percentage on top — which quietly pushes you into comparing builders on their markup instead of the total you’ll actually pay. We bid the whole job with our trade partners and hand you one all-inclusive number. It’s a bigger deal than it sounds — here’s why a lower markup percentage doesn’t mean a lower price.
If you want to see pricing across all our plans, or talk through what your specific build would actually run in Raleigh, Apex, Wake Forest, or anywhere else in our service area, reach out — we’ll walk through the spec, the lot, and the number together. For what you actually get for that price, see the real difference between builder-grade and custom. For the time side, see how long a custom home actually takes. And before you put a lot under contract, see what to look for in a buildable lot.
Cost-Plus vs. All-In: Why a Lower Markup Doesn’t Mean a Lower Price