Custom Homes vs. Tract Homes: The Facts

Buying a new home means making many choices, including whether you would like to build a custom home or a tract house. This decision depends on your schedule, budget and personality. To understand which type of home is right for you, it’s important to first understand the difference between these two housing options.

Custom homes

Buying a custom home is similar to working with a tailor to make a one-of-a-kind outfit. You and your family have many options at each stage of the process, so your custom house will fit your family like a glove. Usually, the process for creating a custom house includes buying a lot, hiring an architect to design the house, and working with a builder during the construction phase. If you are planning to build a new house on a lot with an older house you plan to demolish, you need to follow your county’s teardown laws. These laws dictate details like acceptable construction noise level to the maximum height of your new house. Your town may also have design-review committees that ensure your home design fits into the older neighborhood and tree ordinances.

Tract homes

Tract homes are notorious for being off-the-shelf, cookie-cutter housing, as the builder constructs these homes in quantity and offers Model A, B or C. The main benefit of tract homes is the lower price, as the builder buys material in bulk and passes on the savings to the homeowners. Compared to custom homes, tract homes use more factory-made components and not components built on-site. Tract-house builders offer standard amenities in the properties, which are built into the price. However, homeowners wishing to upgrade can add to the price of the houses. Some municipalities require builders to differentiate by prohibiting variations, such as adjacent houses not being the same color.