Custom Home vs. Production Home: Why Buyers Choose Custom
All buyers searching for their forever homes eventually come to the same fork in the road: should I buy something built (or mostly built) within a subdivision or should I take the time (and possibly additional money) to get a custom build? This is not an easy decision for anyone to make, especially when it comes to sinking hundreds of thousands of dollars into something that’s supposed to be home sweet home for at least a few years (or a few decades).
Production homes afford more stability from an access perspective. You can walk through model homes. You know what you’re getting. You can get in quicker. But if buyers are putting themselves into more debt and waiting longer for their homes to be built – or over time for people with the intention of growing – obviously something more than a personal preference about black granite vs blue granite is at stake.
Here are just a few reasons why custom is the better option, and it’s more than just preference.
The Freedom to Control Every Aspect
Production homes are built for the average buyer – which, when it’s good or bad, means that compromise exists at every inch of every square foot of every floor plan and layout. Production builders decide which outlines and blueprints will most serve the needs of the most people. But that’s counterintuitive because that means no one ever gets what they want in its entirety since blueprints aren’t crafted with individualized care.
Custom homes are the exact opposite. Want your master suite on one side of the house and the kids’ rooms on the other side? Sure! Want a real office instead of a slightly sized closet with a door trying to be one? Absolutely! Prefer open space but also a formal dining room? That’s the appeal of a custom builder.
And it extends to everything, in ceiling heights, placement of windows, how it sits on the lot. Production builders cut corners to make sure homes are affordably priced for all buyers, they cut corners in some spots in the house but not at all spots, for every house for every buyer.
How Lot Choices Matter More Than Most People Think
Production builders tend to build entire subdivisions and communities from top to bottom, meaning when you go with a specific production builder, you’re getting access to whatever plots they have available within whatever community they’ve decided. Often all plots are the same dimensions, orientation, etc.
Custom builders allow the buyer to choose the actual piece of land first. Certain buyers will go with a custom home builder in Gilbert AZ after they’ve found their ideal lot within a preferred neighborhood. Other buyers choose undeveloped lots where they can acquire larger lots or better views. The land is selected as part of the first choice, it’s not an afterthought.
And it matters more than one thinks. Lot orientation determines how much/where natural light comes into your home throughout the day, how big your yard can be (if at all), or what spaces are available for adding a pool or garage workshop. Living in an established area instead of new makes a world of difference day-to-day.
Let’s Talk Money – Nobody Else Wants To
Let’s be honest; custom builds are more expensive up front and sometimes substantially so. Production builders rely on economies of scale, they’re essentially constructing similar homes with slight variations repeatedly enough that the handsome buyer has cash to afford it while also keeping aesthetics up.
Production builders also have connections with suppliers/timelines/crews who know what’s what – everything flows together nicely.
Custom builds negate that advantage. Every single detail takes time to agree upon and source. Materials might have to be special ordered. Crews have to adapt accordingly and pay more attention since they don’t have the repetition of completing one thing and moving on step by step until learning how to do it efficiently with repetition.
But custom builds get more bang for their buck. Why? Because production homes often sell with buyer’s remorse more often than not because buyers need to make immediate renovations once they buy – and they don’t necessarily have the cash or resources to do so right away.
For example, that builder-grade carpeting has to go. Those basic light fixtures need to be immediately changed out. Landscaping needs to be redone – those costs add up during a 30-day cash flow assessment while living in a home that looks like your neighbors’ house and everyone else’s house on the block but those corners cut save money and time while making mediocre but somewhat decent changes just enough to get them marketable.
Custom homes cost more because you’re starting from scratch with what you want – and when you’re done haggling and you get your keys and put your name on the deed, you’ve moved in already without even discussing what could have been better had there been additional cash to spare down the line because buyer’s remorse on a production home creates immediate angst about whether renovations should have been postponed until move-in day, and why couples argue over needing immediate upgrades without additional cash on hand ASAP.
Quality & Craftsmanship Concerns
Are production builders consistent with quality standards? Absolutely! But they’re working off budget-quality, and time-quality because turnover is their golden ticket for timeline success is rendered worthwhile. When production builders can make 50 homes in a subdivision from one floor plan, foundational mistakes are made 50 times with only meeting code and financial requirements; that’s not the case with custom builders, they take on less jobs at once, attention-to-detail is integral for every build because every job is different and typically appeals to a larger segment of income for that builder throughout one year than people want to admit since they’re not cookie cutter like others are.
And that attention-to-detail matters in small ways based on spec sheets – how better insulation fits together, how rooms intentionally flow into one another, structural ideas that make sense because that’s how that specific buyer uses space instead of being pushed through options like everyone else who custom builders choose arbitrarily to dismiss instead of serving their needs instead of everyone else’s compromises.
Timelines Make Production Homes Superior
There’s no question that production homes win out for timelines – in fact, if they have something going on inside a development there’s a good chance you’ll be moved in within months – and even if you’re starting at Phase One/Two/Three, it’s still manageable since they’ve done it before many times even if you’re there alone getting your dreams built day by day along the way.
Custom homes take longer – much longer sometimes – from ideal plans drawn up and brainstorming consensus over permits through construction it could take 12 months-to-18-months, or longer, to ever realize living in a dream home as idealized by heart’s content.
This could turn people off; others appreciate it as worthwhile down the line – this means everything happens exactly agreed upon as opposed to hasty decisions along the way; this means we had time to think about every room as opposed to room changes before redoing everything else, thus it’s easier not to regret wanting that time back later if hasty decisions diminish quality-of-life down the line through daily over years had enough time properly adhered if no one cared about us by then!
The Resale Value Argument
This is where things get tough – if production homes are decent builds within neighborhoods then they sell easier; people know what they’re getting themselves into – in fact, familiarity breeds comfort – and comps are easy since there are literally comps down the street!
Customs sell begrudgingly from an appraisal standpoint; builders tend to like their designs, yet most buyers customize too much so nothing appeals enough otherwise except window treatments they’ve long since taken down by that point.
But customs sell over time, a one-of-a-kind desirable custom home has too much value in desirable locations where someone else wants something unique enough to pay for it, for attractive custom homes have attractive features, and it doesn’t matter if it’s hard to price out, all that matters is that it’s priced out regardless.
At this point it’s unlikely resale value will sway an owner one way or another; it usually isn’t the cherry on top unless well-built customs aesthetically appeal enough from an appraisal standpoint for buyers down the line unless ugly personalized renovations appeal solely to how well they appealed initially!
Making It Work For Your Family
The production vs custom argument is moot if it’s clear which should be better based on something that makes more sense for real lives based on certain characteristics being needs due to what was available at time of construction!
For example, production makes more sense when time Is more urgent versus customization and closeness makes sense based on certain developments due to demographic services and neighborhood intentions versus quality layouts that work well enough they don’t need any preferred adjustments moving forward!
Customs are worth it when populations down the line need/want more than what is feasible or people find their perfect lots and want something overly master-planned/built with pros vs cons instead since this works for those who plan on staying long enough that quality gains come through phases instead of halfway through without anyone caring.
Custom buyers are spending money to invest in their lifestyles from day one – they’re not doing it for bragging rights or speculative reasons – they’re doing it because they’re putting themselves first instead of buying someone else’s idea that’s good enough and then adapting their daily lives afterward (even if logic suggests otherwise, it’s clear it’s happening every day).
