Whether you’re moving to the Space Coast or looking to finally build your dream home in Brevard County, you may be unfamiliar with the building scene in our area. So, we’ll review some of what you can expect to find, and some of the popular locations where there’s significant construction happening. I’ll refrain from using the names of specific builders, and instead explain the different tiers of residential construction. If you’re interested in seeing a complete list of local contractors, with their names and contact information, I’d suggest visiting the Space Coast HBCA’s website.
Custom Construction
There are three main tiers of residential construction: custom, semi-custom, and tract. DiPrima Homes is considered a custom builder, although we sometimes take a semi-custom approach. Custom construction is simply building a house to a buyer’s specifications, with few or no restraints. A buyer either approaches the builder with a lot, or selects a lot that the builder already owns. They then can choose to create a floorplan from scratch, or modify one of the builder’s existing plans. Regardless, the homeowner is involved in almost every decision-making aspect of the build. There are a multitude of decisions to be made, including but not limited to the following: paint, floor tile, grout color, door style, baseboard shape, plumbing fixtures, lighting selections, drywall texture, cabinetry, insulation, windows, pavers, landscaping design, and more. In custom construction, it seems like almost everything involves the homeowner’s input. Afterall, custom houses are usually dream homes, and are often priced as such. They’re more time intensive and the attention to detail is much higher. Their interior design is more intricate, and consequently more expensive. As there are plenty of unknowns, many large custom projects may have cost-plus fee contracts, where the buyer pays for everything during construction and a percentage or fee to the builder.
Custom Builders in Brevard
There are several custom builders in Brevard County, generally less than ten big-name companies. Within custom construction, you have the completely custom multi-million dollar builds, and the more modest builds around a million dollars. Most of the high-end custom houses being built in our area are going to be located on the water, either the river or ocean. Merritt Island along South Tropical Trail, Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour, Indialantic, and Melbourne Beach are all hot spots for custom construction. Consequently, these are individual lots and not usually in a subdivision. These completely custom builders are usually very low volume, meaning they build few houses. Some of the completely custom builders may only close on two or three houses every year. However, there are a couple custom neighborhoods being built, namely in newer communities like Viera, north Melbourne, or even Titusville. We’d consider Casa Bella, close to Suntree, and The Shores at Tranquility, in Titusville, to be custom neighborhoods. Custom houses, especially completely custom in this area will almost always land above $1,000,000. Much of the flashy houses you might see in the Space Coast Parade of Homes seem to sit around $1,500,000 or beyond.
Semi-Custom Construction
Semi-custom construction describes the home building process that allows some customization, but streamlines the build to where the buyer only has a handful of decisions to make. Semi-custom builders usually start with a list of floor plans to choose from, and allow the buyer to make adjustments as they see fit. A homeowner may be given a list of choices regarding their countertops, floor tile, and shingles, among a number of other selections. While there is still significant input from the homeowner, the house is not being drawn from the ground up. Builders can provide a decent guess as to how much the house might cost. Therefore, most semi-custom projects are going to have lump-sum contracts, where the buyer knows the contract value up front.
Semi-Custom Builders in Brevard
DiPrima Homes has a semi-custom approach in Laguna Village, our south Melbourne neighborhood. Homeowners can choose between five different floor plans, modifying them to some degree, and making numerous selections inside. However, the houses can only be a certain width, require shingles, and need to roughly retain their original front elevation. There are plenty of other neighborhoods in Brevard that fit within this parameter. There is one community in Viera, one or two around Lake Washington, and several in Melbourne. Central Brevard, being largely developed over the last four decades, does not have a lot of concentrated custom or semi-custom neighborhoods. Semi-custom houses in Brevard are likely going to be over $500,000, and fall below $1,250,000.
Tract Construction
Lastly, we have the tract builders, also called production builders. These contractors are known as tract builders as they often purchase massive tracts of land, develop it, and build hundreds or even thousands of houses. Tract builders have a presence nationwide, and are continually building in the hot markets around the country. Homeowner selections, if any, are minimal. These builders usually offer less than five floorplans in one community, and construct many of their houses without a specific buyer in mind. The houses are quick to build and lack a lot of the bells and whistles. Construction quality is sometimes low, but they serve a purpose. These houses are great starter homes for young individuals or families, and will appreciate in value with the housing market. Homeowners can opt to make any additions or changes to their tract home on their own after closing on the house.
Tract Builders in Brevard
There are three or four big tract builders in Brevard. Some of the neighborhoods in Viera could be considered tract construction. However, much of the tract building is happening in Palm Bay. West of I-95, builders are purchasing hundreds of acres along the St. Johns Heritage Parkway and developing massive communities. Most of these houses are going to start around three bedrooms and two and half baths, with some selling in the $300,000s. While some of these tract homes can reach $500,000, the vast majority will fall under half-a-million dollars. Expect to see generally smaller houses, with identical front elevations, in neighborhoods with hundreds of houses.
In Review
So, we’ve discussed the differences between custom, semi-custom, and tract homes. We’ve also discussed the locations where you might find some of these houses being built, and how much they’re selling for. If you’re interested in building your next house in Brevard County, don’t hesitate to reach out to DiPrima Homes.