New Construction Buyer Guides
The short answer
Buying new construction works differently from buying a resale, and most of what goes wrong happens in places a first-time new-build buyer does not think to look: the registration rule on your first visit, the incentive tied to the builder's own lender, the walkthrough that decides what gets fixed. These guides cover those, from working these transactions.
You Visited a Builder Without an Agent. Now What?
The registration rule, what it actually costs you, and whether it can be fixed
Most Austin builders require your agent to be registered on your first visit to their sales office. If you walked in alone and signed the guest book, many builders will refuse to pay a buyer agent commission on that community afterwards, which means you either proceed unrepresented or pay an agent yourself.
Do You Need an Inspection on a New Construction Home?
Yes. Here is when, how many, and why the orientation matters most
Yes, and ideally three times: a pre-drywall inspection while the framing, plumbing and wiring are still visible, a full inspection before closing, and a warranty inspection before the one-year builder warranty expires. A new home is built fast by rotating subcontractors, and the city inspection checks code compliance rather than workmanship.
Builder Lender or Your Own? How to Actually Decide
The incentive is tied to their lender. That does not settle it.
Most Austin builders tie their largest incentives to their in-house mortgage and title companies, so using an outside lender usually forfeits the headline incentive. You can use any lender you want.
Spec Home or Build to Order?
One gets you a better deal. The other gets you the house you wanted.
A spec or quick move-in home is already built or nearly finished, so it carries the larger incentive, a known price and a short timeline, but you take the finishes someone else chose. A build to order lets you pick the lot, plan and finishes, and costs more because the design center is where builder margin lives.
Buying Austin New Construction From Overseas
What is different when you are buying before you land
You can buy a new construction home in Austin without being physically present, and a large share of my clients do. The three things that decide whether it goes well are financing (buyers without US credit history need a different loan product, and the builder's in-house lender may not offer one, which usually means losing the incentive), someone on the ground who will walk the actual lot and street on camera rather than resending builder photos, and understanding that Texas property taxes are the trade for no state income tax..
How to Negotiate With an Austin Builder
What actually moves, what never does, and when to ask
Builders rarely move on the base price, because a recorded price cut lowers the comparable sales for every unsold home in the community. What moves is the package: rate buydowns, closing cost contributions, design center allowances and lot premiums on a specific home.
New Build or Resale in Austin?
The comparison most buyers run on price, which is the wrong number
A new build gets you current layouts, a builder warranty, lower maintenance for several years and access to incentives a private seller cannot match. A resale gets you mature trees, established neighborhoods, a known tax history, usually a larger lot for the money, and no builder still selling competing homes down the street.
Do You Need an Agent to Buy New Construction?
The builder pays the fee. Here is what you get for it.
You do not need one, and going without does not lower your price, because the builder pays the buyer agent fee out of a marketing budget rather than adding it to your sales price. What you give up is someone on your side during the negotiation, the inspection and the orientation walkthrough.
Is a Buyer's Agent Free on New Construction in Austin?
Who pays, where it is written down, and the cases where it is not free
On most Austin new construction, yes. The builder pays the buyer agent's fee from its marketing budget, and the sales price is the same whether or not you bring an agent.
Before Your First Builder Visit in Austin: A Checklist
The registration rule, what to bring, and what not to say in the sales office
Contact your buyer's agent before you set foot in a builder's sales office, because most Austin builders only pay a buyer agent who is registered on your first visit. Text your agent the builder and community name, write the agent's name on the registration card, bring a pre-approval but keep your maximum budget to yourself, and leave with the price sheet, the incentive deadline in writing and the tax rate for that phase.
Questions to Ask an Austin Home Builder
The ones that change the price, the payment and the resale
The questions that matter most at an Austin builder are about money and timing, not finishes: which homes have been standing longest and what they have been reduced by, whether the incentive requires the builder's lender or title company, what the effective tax rate is for that phase including MUD or PID, how many phases are left to build, what the lot premium is, and when the incentive deadline falls. Ask for every answer in writing..
Lennar vs D.R. Horton in Austin
Two entry-level volume builders, compared from the buyer's side
Lennar and D.R. Horton are the two highest-volume entry-level builders in the Austin metro.
Perry Homes vs Highland Homes in Austin
Two Texas move-up builders, compared from the buyer's side
Perry Homes and Highland Homes are both Texas-based move-up builders in the Austin metro, roughly $400,000 to $900,000, often in the same master plans in Georgetown and Leander. Highland is known for above-average standard features and strong warranty scores.
Further reading
Something these guides did not cover?
Tell me where you are in the process and what you're worried about. I'll give you a straight answer.