Build a custom home in Cary, NC
Cary is next door to our Apex headquarters — and its custom-build story is the in-fill lot and the teardown on a street you already love. Published pricing, 20+ ready-to-permit floor plans, and a builder who picks up the phone.
The town next door, where the lot is the find.
Cary barely has empty land left — which is exactly why custom building here is its own craft. The opportunities are in-fill lots, estate parcels that never hit the open market, and teardowns where the street and the trees are worth more than the house. We’re headquartered one town over in Apex, with 100+ Triangle homes behind us.
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 Cary land
Scarce doesn’t mean impossible — it means the screen shifts from soil to setbacks.
What the map actually looks like
Most Cary custom builds start on a lot that already has a past: an in-fill parcel between established homes, or a teardown whose value is the street, the schools, and the mature trees. Public water and sewer are often already at the street — the exception to the Triangle’s well-and-septic rule — so the questions that decide the project become lot width, setbacks, and tree save: which of our plans actually fits the envelope.
That’s a paperwork-and-tape-measure screen, and it’s exactly what we do before you offer. Our buildable-lot guide covers the whole picture →
What we check before you offer
Send us any listing — or the teardown you’re eyeing — and we’ll screen it the way we screen lots for ourselves, then walk it with you:
- Lot width and setbacks against the floor plans you actually want
- Utilities — town water/sewer at the street, or well and septic
- Topography on county GIS — slopes, low spots, drainage
- What demolition and tree save mean for the budget on a teardown
- 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 Cary 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 Cary 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 next door in Apex — we're around.
Asked constantly, answered straight
How much does it cost to build a custom home in Cary, 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 and site work typically included; we confirm the number when we walk your lot. In Cary the bigger variable is usually the land itself: in-fill lots and teardowns carry the location premium, and we help you judge whether a specific lot earns it. See the full cost guide with every published price →
Can you build on a lot I already own in Cary?
Yes — building on your land is most of what we do, teardown-and-rebuild included. Send us the address and we'll walk it with you, measure the envelope (width, setbacks, tree save), and tell you straight which plans fit and what your home would cost. How building on your lot works →
Can you rebuild on a teardown lot in Cary?
Yes. A teardown is often the only way into an established Cary street, and we screen those lots for what actually decides the project: demolition scope, lot width and setbacks against the plan you want, tree save, and what's reusable at the street. We'll tell you before you offer whether the rebuild math works. Ask about a teardown lot →
I don't have land yet. Can you help me find a lot in Cary?
Yes, and because Cary lots are scarce and move fast, we run an MLS-powered land search covering eight Triangle counties with email alerts the day new land hits the market, and we'll screen any listing before you offer. If Cary inventory runs dry, the ring one town out often builds the same life for less. Search Triangle land →
How long does it take to build a custom home in Cary?
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 Cary or Wake County, depending on where your lot sits. The full timeline, stage by stage →
“Totally satisfied with Hornet Homes, excellent details: quality of work, cleanliness, professionalism and communication. I am pleased and grateful worked with you.”
Josue Espinoza★★★★★ on GoogleLet’s walk your Cary 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.
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