Process only · 24 chapters

The Guide: New Construction in North Texas, Explained in Order

Every chapter a relocating buyer needs: what to know before you move, how the build works, what it really costs, and what the taxes and contracts mean.

Process only: no listings, no community reviews, no fluff. Written by Broker Theresa De La Rosa and reviewed on October 19, 2026.

Where to start

Not sure where to begin? Start here.

Two doors into the guide: your origin state, or the master timeline. Pick the one that matches your move, and it links you forward from there.

Or follow the seven-step path: Start Here

Ch. 12 · Origin hub Where you're coming from Every state brings its own money math, climate assumptions, and closing habits to a North Texas new build. Pick your origin chapter and close the gaps before you sign. Start with your origin Ch. 01 · The master plan Pre-Move Timeline A week-by-week plan for buying a North Texas new build and moving in without a scramble, whether you are coming from out of state or across town. Start the timeline

The entry points

Start Here

The two doors into the guide, the remote buying protocol every out-of-state buyer reads next, and the new build versus resale decision every relocating buyer makes first.

12 Where you're coming from: the source-market playbook Every state brings its own money math, climate assumptions, and closing habits to a North Texas new build. Pick your origin chapter and close the gaps before you sign. Read chapter 01 The 60-90 day pre-move buying timeline A week-by-week plan for buying a North Texas new build and moving in without a scramble, whether you are coming from out of state or across town. Read chapter 02 Buying a new build before you move: the remote and on-the-ground protocol Video walkthroughs, a trusted local team, and two or three well-timed flights. The honest hybrid protocol for buying North Texas new construction from out of state. Read chapter 24 New construction vs. resale for relocating buyers Neither is universally better. Warranty and new systems versus established landscaping and a finished community, builder incentives and your own timeline versus keys in weeks, and the January 1 tax snapshot that applies to new construction only. Read chapter

The money

Money & Financing

What builders are offering in the 2026 market, what the incentive stack is worth, and the true monthly and relocation numbers behind a North Texas new build.

03 Builder incentives and rate buydowns in the 2026 market Packages of $15,000 to $40,000 are common on DFW new builds right now. What is actually in the stack, how a 2-1 buydown works, and what you give up to get the full credit. Read chapter 22 The true cost of a new construction home in North Texas, from another state Price is not the monthly number. Principal and interest, property taxes on the January 1 assessment, MUD and PID districts, insurance, HOA fees, the fine print on incentives, and the relocation costs that follow you from another state. Read chapter

The paperwork

Contracts & Remote Buying

The builder contract and the earnest money mechanics, read for the buyer signing from another state, plus the remote closing protocol.

05 TREC contracts vs. the builder's contract Texas builders are allowed to use their own attorney-drafted purchase agreements. The differences change your right to walk away, your inspection windows, and what happens to your deposit. Read chapter 04 Earnest money and the option period Where your deposit sits, how much is typical on a new build, and what the option period does and does not do for a Texas buyer. Read chapter 21 New construction contracts for relocating buyers A builder's contract is not the TREC resale form you may know. What to verify from another state before you sign: earnest money and the option period, allowances and change orders, completion dates, and registering your agent before your first model-home visit. Read chapter 09 Closing remotely in Texas: remote online notarization, explained Texas has allowed remote online notarization since 2018, which means out-of-state buyers can often sign Texas closing documents from their own kitchen. Here is how it works and when in person is still required. Read chapter

The tax year

Taxes

The January 1 assessment snapshot and the districts behind your property tax bill.

07 Texas property taxes for new builds: exemption, cap, and districts No income tax, but property taxes carry the load. The $140,000 school exemption, the 10 percent annual cap, and what MUD and PID districts add to your monthly number. Read chapter 06 The January 1 tax assessment trap Texas appraises property as of January 1. Under construction that day? You pay on the percentage complete. Finished that day? Full value, immediately. Here is how to plan for both. Read chapter

The build

The Build

The ground under the house, the construction phases you will watch from another state, and what differs at the luxury end of the market.

08 Slab foundations and expansive clay: the crack reality check Nearly all North Texas new builds sit on a slab because the soil moves. What to expect, what a crack actually means, and the soaker hose habit that protects your foundation. Read chapter 23 New construction phases, told for the buyer who is not in the state Site prep, slab, framing, mechanicals, drywall, trim. What happens in each phase, what to inspect, the two stages you can never revisit, and how your agent covers the site when you are not in the state. Read chapter 20 Luxury New Construction in North Texas: A Buyer's Process Guide Custom plans, estate lots, construction financing, allowances and change orders: what changes when a North Texas new build moves into the luxury tier. Read chapter

The move

Moving & Settling In

For in-state movers, plus the California, Florida, or within-Texas comparison.

11 Moving within Texas: the new construction buyer's guide for in-state movers Every moving guide assumes you are arriving from out of state. If you already live in Texas, the real changes are the appraisal district, the effective tax rate, the builder contract, the school zone, and the January 1 assessment clock. This is the guide that was missing. Read chapter 10 Moving from California, Florida, or within Texas: what changes Three origins, three sets of details. The money math changes, the weather changes, the clay changes. The process does not. Read chapter

One chapter per origin

Coming From

The tax math, insurance, and closing habits your home state got you used to, one state at a time.

13 California to North Texas: the property-tax mindset shift California's Prop 13 caps your assessment. Texas's Prop 13 raises the homestead exemption. That difference, plus Mello-Roos, slab foundations, and the equity-unlock story, is this chapter. Read chapter 14 Florida to North Texas: no income tax in either state, so what changes? Most Florida-to-Texas guides lead with the income tax, which is a non-story. The real changes are insurance, the buying process, homestead differences, and a different kind of heat. Read chapter 15 New York to North Texas: tax math and transfer timing New York state and local income tax ends at the Texas line. What replaces it, and what a new-build purchase looks like on a job-transfer calendar. Read chapter 16 Colorado to North Texas: transferees and the mountain-to-prairie change Charles Schwab moved its headquarters to Westlake, and TIAA built a 1,000-worker campus in Frisco. For transferees and individual movers, here is what changes between the mountains and the prairie. Read chapter 17 Illinois to North Texas: taxes, basements, and build timing The state income tax disappears, the property-tax rate drops, the basement disappears, and the utility year flips from heating to cooling. Read chapter 19 Military & veterans: buying a new build with a VA loan The VA funding fee, the 60-day occupancy rule, and how PCS timing lines up with a builder's completion date. Theresa's specialty, walked through step by step. Read chapter 18 Corporate relocation to DFW: buying with a hard start date DFW has ranked No. 1 for corporate headquarters relocations seven years running (CBRE), with the most interstate HQ moves of any metro in 2025. This is the buy-before-you-arrive plan for employees with a start date. Read chapter

The full path

Read the Guide in Order

Start at chapter 1 and follow the numbers: the timeline, the remote buying protocol, the money, the contract, the tax year, the ground under the house, then closing and the moving chapters. The Where you're coming from hub opens the origin chapters, and chapter 20 covers the luxury tier. Chapters 21 through 24 finish the set for relocating buyers: the new build versus resale decision, the contracts, the true costs, and the build phases. Every chapter links forward and back, so you can also jump in anywhere.

Last reviewed

October 19, 2026

Texas tax figures in this guide reflect the 2026 tax year, including the $140,000 school district homestead exemption passed in November 2025. Market incentive ranges reflect late-2026 conditions and change with the quarter.

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Which chapter should you start with?

Tell us where you are moving from and your timeline. Theresa will point you to the right chapter and answer your specific question directly.

7 straight years#1 for corporate headquarters relocations Source: CBRE Dallas Business Journal
11interstate HQ moves to DFW in 2025 Source: CBRE Dallas Business Journal
100+HQ relocations since 2018 Source: CBRE Dallas Business Journal
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