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Educational decision guide · not a listing
Comparing builders on floor plans and price only gets you so far. The decisions that actually shape your buying experience are the process ones: how the contract is written, what the base price includes versus what becomes an upgrade, how homesites are chosen, whether you can bring in an independent inspector, how construction progress is communicated, how the warranty is honored, and what the preferred-lender financing incentive costs you. NewBuildNTX specializes in that buying process; see how it works from start to finish on the process page.
Builder match quiz
Answer five quick questions about budget, timeline, area, home style, and how you like to shop, and get matched to the North Texas builders worth your time.
What to compare
Weigh these eight points across every builder you talk to. Where the guide covers one of them in depth, the link goes straight to that guide.
The base price is the headline; the true cost is the finished monthly obligation. Compare lot premiums, design center minimums, taxes in MUD and PID districts, insurance, and the upgrades you actually want.
Read the guide on the true cost of a new build
Ask what the base price includes before you start upgrading. Two builders can quote the same number for very different finished homes, depending on what is standard and what is an option.
Most builder contracts are the builder's own attorney-drafted form, not the TREC form, and they usually have no option period. Know how earnest money is held by the title company and what the termination clauses say before you sign.
Read TREC contracts vs. the builder's contract
Community, lot release, orientation, and lot premium change the price, the build, and the tax district you land in. Decide how the homesite is chosen before you commit to a community.
Ask directly when a third-party inspector you hire can walk the home. The pre-drywall inspection is the one-time window when the mechanicals are still visible, and builder-controlled inspection windows vary.
Read the guide on new construction phasesWhen you buy from another state, the builder's communication style matters as much as the floor plan. Ask how progress is reported, who your single point of contact is, and whether you get staged walkthroughs.
Read the remote buying protocolGet the written warranty in hand before you sign: what it covers, the years on structure and systems, who honors the claim, and how long the response process takes. Treat the handbook, not the sales pitch, as the truth.
The biggest incentive stack usually requires using the builder's preferred lender, at the cost of comparing your own financing. Ask for the offer itemized in writing and weigh the rate, points, and closing-cost assistance as one package.
Read builder incentives and rate buydownsPut two builder offers side by side: incentives, rate, and total cost.
Use the Compare ToolOne warning before you weigh in
The biggest single difference between two builders is rarely the floor plan. It is the contract, the inspection windows, and the incentive fine print. Read those in writing before you let a price sheet decide for you.
Fifteen builders active in North Texas
These fifteen builders all have a substantial North Texas presence. The descriptions are drawn from each company's official site and describe how it builds, not how well. We do not rank builders or grade them against each other: every community, lot, and contract is different, and the right builder depends on your budget, your timeline, and how you want the process to run.
Highland Homes builds new-construction communities throughout North Texas, including Denton County towns such as Argyle, Northlake, Denton, Flower Mound, and Justin. Its approach is semi-custom: buyers choose from a library of tested floor plans, then personalize layout, elevations, interiors, and finishes through an in-person design studio process, or buy from its Quick Move-In inventory.
Coventry Homes is a North Texas production builder with new-construction communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, including cities such as Celina, Fort Worth, Flower Mound, Prosper, and Waxahachie. It organizes floor plans into Collections by lot width, from 50-foot lots to larger estate sizes, with design center customization, Eco Smart energy-efficient designs, quick move-in inventory, and a Build On Your Lot program.
David Weekley Homes is one of the largest privately held home builders in the country and has built in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro since 1985, with communities across both the Dallas and Fort Worth sides of the market, including areas such as Celina, Frisco, Flower Mound, Argyle, and Fort Worth. Its brand promise is "Design, Choice and Service": lifestyle-driven floor plans with customizable choices, multiple product lines from traditional to first-time to age-qualified, and energy-saving building options.
Toll Brothers builds through a Dallas Division serving the North Texas suburbs, typically in master-planned and resort-style communities in highly rated school districts, with examples across Collin, Denton, and Tarrant Counties including Prosper, Fort Worth, Denton, Murphy, and Northlake. Its approach is semi-custom: buyers choose a flexibly designed floor plan and personalize it through the Toll Brothers Design Studio, with structural options, finishes, and smart-home technology, plus some quick move-in homes. Its published process runs roughly 6 to 12 months from contract to move-in.
D.R. Horton, founded in Fort Worth in 1978 and the company it calls "America's Builder," has one of the largest new-construction footprints in North Texas, with active communities across Dallas, Fort Worth, and dozens of surrounding suburbs including Celina, Prosper, McKinney, Little Elm, Wylie, Forney, Burleson, and Northlake. Its approach is production building: buyers choose from a catalog of pre-designed floor plans across its series, with a systematized build schedule, staged orientations, quick-delivery move-in-ready inventory, a home warranty, and in-house financing through DHI Mortgage.
American Legend Homes is a family- and employee-owned North Texas production builder founded in 2003, with its Texas office in Lewisville and communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth area, including Denton County towns such as Argyle, Denton, Justin, Northlake, and Oak Point. Buyers choose from a catalog of pre-designed floor plans built on a systematized production schedule across roughly 20 Texas communities, with new construction ranging from entry-level to move-up homes.
Ashton Woods is a design-forward production builder with new-construction communities across North Texas. Buyers personalize homes through the AW Studio experience and curated design collections, and its Starlight Homes brand builds streamlined, energy-efficient homes for first-time buyers.
Bloomfield Homes is a family-oriented North Texas production builder headquartered in Southlake and founded in 2004, with new-construction communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including Denton County towns such as Denton, Justin, Oak Point, and Aubrey. Buyers choose from a catalog of pre-designed floor plans built on a production schedule, and the company is consistently ranked among the largest homebuilders in DFW.
HistoryMaker Homes is a family-owned Texas production builder that has been building homes since 1949, with new-construction communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth metro, including Denton County towns such as Aubrey, Corinth, Justin, Little Elm, and Roanoke. Buyers choose from a catalog of pre-designed floor plans built on a systematized production schedule.
K. Hovnanian Homes, the residential brand of Hovnanian Enterprises building since 1959, operates a dedicated Dallas-Fort Worth division serving the North Texas market. Its communities span single-family homes and townhomes in towns such as Lavon, Fate, Providence Village, and Fort Worth, built on a production model with catalog floor plans and design-center customization.
Meritage Homes is one of the largest public homebuilders in the United States and builds production new homes across North Texas, including Denton County communities such as Stella Hills in Denton and Oak Ridge Park in Corinth, plus Collin County communities in McKinney, Anna, and Melissa. Its homes are built to ENERGY STAR certification as standard and include a smart-home package in the base build.
Partners in Building is a Texas custom and semi-custom home builder founded in Houston in 1986 that entered the Dallas-Fort Worth market in 2022 through its acquisition of the long-established Dallas builder Paul Taylor Homes. Its North Texas communities include new homes in Frisco, Prosper, Southlake, McKinney, and Plano.
Sandlin Homes is a family-owned Dallas-Fort Worth builder that has been building homes since 1957 and is now run by the Sandlin family out of North Richland Hills. Its North Texas communities include Timberbrook in Justin, Bluffs at Northpointe in Fort Worth, Wellington in Haslet, and Elements at Viridian in Arlington.
Tradition Homes is a family-owned North Texas builder headquartered in McKinney and founded in 2019 by Zach Schneider with Bill Darling, a former Darling Homes CEO. It builds move-up and estate-level homes in master-planned communities across DFW, including Furst Ranch in Argyle, The Ridge at Northlake, and communities in Celina, Prosper, and Colleyville.
UnionMain Homes is a Dallas-based semi-custom home builder founded by Tim Gehan, former co-founder and CEO of Gehan Homes, with new-construction communities across the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Its North Texas communities span from Celina and Melissa in the north to Waxahachie in the south, with new homes in Justin, Fate, Forney, Royse City, and Lavon.
Builder descriptions and community references on this page are drawn from each company's official North Texas website and reviewed October 23, 2026. Community counts, floor plans, and pricing change often; confirm current details on the builder's site or with the builder directly.
Next stop: the places
This page covers the process of comparing builders. The places question, which North Texas cities, communities, and available homes to compare, lives on InDFWLiving.
Ready to compare builders against your budget and timeline? Walk the comparison with a broker who closes new builds in Denton County.
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