Custom vs. Production Homes: What's the Difference?

With the real estate market growing so extensively in Oklahoma right now, you may be thinking about building a home and wonder what type of control you’ll have over the design. In most cases, there are two dominant types of new home construction – custom and production homes. Depending on your budget, location, neighborhood, and preferences, you can select the type that fits your needs the most. 

What are Production Homes? 

Production builders are semi-custom, with a carefully curated but limited lineup of floor plans, exterior styles, and interior selections to choose from. They typically only build in their own communities. Production builders have new home construction down to an art; they can build over one hundred homes a year! They are able to accomplish this by having incredible relationships with vendors and by using similar design, layout, and exterior features. In most cases, the homes are built by a single developer who owns the lots, or sometimes a community can be split up among two or more builders. These communities are often in the surrounding suburbs due to the availability of land, proximity of highways, and great school systems. Capital Homes builds most homes in Broken Arrow, Owasso and Bixby (new communities coming soon!) Production builders know exactly how much everything will cost, and are able to develop their communities efficiently, and pass the savings on to the buyers. This enables many buyers who may not have considered a custom build, to build their dream home - within reason, of course! 

What are the Benefits and Disadvantages of Production Homes? 

One benefit that production homes provide is their variety of price ranges, providing excellent value and making them accessible for many homeowners looking to find a more affordable option than a custom build. Production builders buy materials in bulk and pass the savings on to the consumer, and they generally offer a selection of homes that work for people with various preferences.  Also, can we all scream, “AMENITIES!” That’s right, since they typically create entire developments at one time, they make sure to include popular amenities like parks, splash pads, and walking trails. 

Production builders can also build more quickly, because they are intimately familiar with the floor plans they’re building. When you’re working with a reputable builder, you really get a very high quality home, in a great location, for a fair price. 

Production builders offer a limited number of selections, usually curated by a design team to include popular classic options as well as the day’s top trends. Many customers love the direction and assistance in design that building this way can offer. However, for those with very specific tastes, who are looking for a highly customized home, a production builder may not have what they are looking for. 

What are Custom Homes? 

Custom homes present homeowners with the opportunity to develop and design their homes completely from scratch. This would usually require collaborating and working with an interior designer, architect, building contractor, and other professionals to create a design. Then, depending on the situation, the home site could belong to the homeowner or a developer. As every custom home is different, it may require more specific expertise and intensive work, a custom build will be more expensive. And, with no predetermined collections to choose from, it may require more work for the homeowner to curate their own selections such as cabinetry, countertops, fixtures, and more. The end product can be exactly what the homeowner envisioned, but it will be reflected in the work and cost required. 

What Are The Benefits and Disadvantages of Custom Homes? 

As custom homes are usually built from scratch, this offers homeowners the flexibility and autonomy to tailor each aspect of the property to suit their preferences, requirements, and lifestyle. In addition, they are provided the freedom to select everything involved in the home's construction, from the style, to the materials, to the colors, down to the textures. 

However, custom homes also come with the disadvantage of higher costs and requiring a longer time to finish. Each home created from scratch is considered a project, and as a homeowner, you will be required to deal with tough decisions, hiccups, and setbacks that could arise during the construction process. This could also incur unforeseen and unpredictable costs that could be devastating to the financial strength of the homeowner. 

Why Choose Capital Homes?

Capital Homes is the one-stop solution to answer all your home searching needs. You can choose to join one of our many vibrant communities in Tulsa, Sand Springs, Owasso, Broken Arrow, and more. Alternatively, you may also want to customize the new home of your dreams at our design center, where our expert design consultant can advise you in making decisions you’ll love for years to come. Best of all, our highly specialized team is here for you every step of the way in your homebuilding  journey. 

For more information about Capital Homes’ home building and design services, please do not hesitate to contact us.