Build a custom home in Apex, NC
Our office is on Chapel Ridge Road in Apex — this is home turf. We build custom homes on your lot or help you find one, with published pricing, 20+ ready-to-permit floor plans, and a builder who picks up the phone.
Apex isn’t a market we serve. It’s where we are.
Hornet Homes is headquartered at 1480 Chapel Ridge Rd in Apex, and we’ve built 100+ homes across the Triangle — from in-town lots to acreage out past Jordan Lake. We know which side of town percs, what the Town of Apex wants on a site plan, and what it actually costs to put a home on the land you’re looking at.
Published pricing. Actually published.
Most builders make you book a meeting to hear a number. Ours are on the site: across our 20+ plans, homes run from $283,000 to just over $1,000,000 — and every plan’s real price is published on its page.
And the price means more than usual, because site work is typically in it: survey, soil testing, septic design and a conventional install, a well to 300 feet, utility connections, clearing and grading. Land and finish upgrades are separate, and the lot walk confirms what your lot needs — but you’re starting from a real number, not a teaser base price.
We price each plan as a whole home. The full breakdown — what’s in the number, what isn’t, and every published price — is in our cost guide →
Three anchors from the price list
The honest read on Apex land
Finding the lot is the hard part here — so that’s the part we built tools and a process around.
What the map actually looks like
In-town Apex lots are scarce and get taken fast — often as in-fill or tear-downs where public water and sewer may already be at the street. The acreage is west and south of town, toward New Hill and Jordan Lake, and out into Chatham County — beautiful country, but it’s also where Triangle soils get tougher for a septic drain field. Not unbuildable; it just has to be verified early, before you’re committed to the lot.
Since 2019, North Carolina lets a licensed third-party soil evaluator (an AOWE) answer the perc question fast — we use that path so you know the lot’s bedroom count before you spend money on anything else. Our buildable-lot guide covers the whole picture →
What we check before you offer
Send us any listing and we’ll screen it the way we screen lots for ourselves, then walk it with you:
- Perc paperwork quality — a soil engineer’s letter, or just a map with drill marks?
- Topography on county GIS — slopes, low spots, floodplain
- Utilities — town water/sewer at the street, or well and septic
- Lot width against the floor plans you actually want
- The aerial vs. the listing photos — a freshly cleared lot has a story
More guides for building in the Triangle →
Listings displayed via Triangle MLS (Doorify MLS) IDX feed. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Listings provided courtesy of Hornet Realty, LLC — Jonathan Andrews, Broker on Record.
From Apex lot to keys in hand
Nine to twelve months start to finish is typical — and you’ll always know which step you’re on.
Walk the land
Bring us your lot — or a listing you’re eyeing — and we’ll walk it together: soil, septic, topography, driveway, and which of our plans fit the lot. You leave knowing what the home would cost on it.
Lock the number
A single all-in fixed price built from real trade bids — never cost-plus. Everything in your home is spelled out, and the price is one number for all of it. Upgrades are your choice, each one shows its price before you pick it, and you make all your selections before we break ground. We handle permitting with the Town of Apex or Wake County.
Build it right
About six months of construction with milestone walkthroughs, then a one-year workmanship-and-materials warranty (with a nail-pop and touch-up visit) and a 10-year structural warranty, both backed by Hornet Homes. Our office is right here in Apex — we're around.
Asked constantly, answered straight
How much does it cost to build a custom home in Apex, NC?
Our published pricing runs from $283,000 (the Sycamore, a 1,362 sq ft ranch) to just over $1,000,000 (the White Oak at 5,880 sq ft), with every plan's price published on its page. Those prices typically include the site work: survey, soil testing, septic design and a conventional install, a well to 300 feet, utility connections, clearing and grading. Land and finish upgrades are separate, and we confirm the number after walking your specific lot. See the full cost guide with every published price →
Can you build on a lot I already own in Apex?
Yes — building on your land is most of what we do. Send us the address and we'll walk the lot with you, talk through buildability (soil, septic, topography, setbacks), and tell you straight what your home would cost on it before you commit to anything. How building on your lot works →
I don't have land yet. Can you help me find a lot near Apex?
Yes. In-town Apex lots are scarce and move quickly, so we run an MLS-powered land search covering eight Triangle counties, with email alerts the day new land hits the market. We'll also screen any listing before you offer and walk it with you — no pressure to commit. Search Triangle land →
Do Apex lots need a well and septic?
It depends where the lot sits. In and around town, many lots can connect to public water and sewer. West and south of Apex — out toward Jordan Lake and New Hill — custom lots typically run on well and septic, and that's also where Triangle soils get tougher for a septic drain field. We verify the perc question early, before you're committed to the lot. What makes a lot buildable →
Does it matter whether an Apex lot is inside town limits?
Yes — it sets the path to town water, sewer and a permit. Inside Apex's corporate limits, a home goes straight to the town for its permit. In the town's ETJ (the band outside the limits where Apex still sets zoning), a parcel has to be annexed into the town to get town water or sewer. In Wake County's Apex long-range planning area, it takes both an annexation petition and a rezoning petition. Apex sewer goes only to homes on town water. Checking which one a lot sits in is our job as the builder, and we handle the permits. Septic, well or town water: what to know →
Which schools would an Apex address go to?
Every Wake County student is assigned a base school by home address, and the school system's lookup shows it for any address you're considering. That part of choosing a lot is yours — it's worth looking up before you commit. Wake County's base school lookup →
How long does it take to build a custom home in Apex?
Nine to twelve months start to finish is typical, and construction itself runs about six months once permits clear. We handle permitting with the Town of Apex or Wake County, depending on where your lot sits. The full timeline, stage by stage →
“It was easy to trust them with this process — we were informed about things all throughout the different phases. Even when I doubted it would become a reality, they knew we would figure it out. We are absolutely in love with our home.”
Tiya ShieldsHornet Homes Owner · ★★★★★ on GoogleLet’s walk your Apex lot.
Fifteen minutes on the phone, then boots on the dirt. We’ll tell you straight whether the lot works and what your home would cost on it — no pressure either way.
Start a Conversation