New & Custom Home Builders in Escondido, CA
Build your custom home in Escondido, CA
How much does it cost to build a home in Escondido, CA?
The cost to build a custom home in San Diego County will vary based on many different factors. Lot location and size, permits and fees, and specific design choices will all impact the all-in cost to build a custom home in Escondido. We estimate that the cost to build a home in Escondido is approximately $400 - $500 per square foot, including some modest allocations for improvements and soft costs. If you’re interested in learning more about the cost breakdown, you can read our article about how much it costs to build a home in San Diego. If you would like an estimate for your project, use our Land/Build Calculator.
How much does land cost in Escondido, CA?
Escondido has many different areas from its Central City area, Old Town, San Pasqual Valley, Hidden Meadows, and Jesmond Dene — each with different land/lot prices. Typically, you’ll find lots in the .25 AC in the middle of town and 3+ AC range the further you go out. We estimate that a straightforward lot with minimal improvements will cost somewhere in the range of $200,000 - $450,000.
Land in Escondido includes the following zip codes: 92025, 92026, 92027, 92029, 92030, 92033, and 92046
If you would like an estimate for your project, use our Land/Build Calculator.
Why Escondido, CA is a great place to live
Escondido is a suburb in the northern part of San Diego. With a population of approximately 150,000 people, Escondido offers a diverse mix of people, giving the area an urban/suburban feel. There are plenty of parks located in Escondido including Kit Carson Park — a large park with beautiful walking trails, playgrounds, ponds, athletic facilities, picnic areas, and even a 5-acre arboretum. In Escondido, there are above-average ranked public schools and a selection of well-established private schools. Escondido also contains a variety of local shopping and dining options. Additionally, the median home value in Escondido is lower than it is in other areas of San Diego — making it a desirable place for people who are building custom homes, as it is slightly more affordable than other areas like Rancho Santa Fe.
Things to do in Escondido, CA
Since Escondido is a slightly larger suburb, there is a wide range of activities for people of all ages to do. Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens is a popular location, as you can dine in an open-air patio surrounded by gorgeous foliage and walk around the one-acre-wide beer garden. You can also walk around the Stone Company Store, enjoy one of their craft beers, and eat a high-quality meal here.
Besides excellent dining options, there are also multiple entertainment options in Escondido. Escondido is home to the California Center for the Arts, which hosts a wide range of events, music artists, performers, and exhibitions throughout the year. Less than a mile away from there, you can find the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum — a great place with over 100,000 yearly visitors where you can take children to explore a variety of educational exhibits. Additionally, the San Diego Archaeological Center is located on the outskirts of Escondido, and in it, you can learn all about the history of San Diego dating back 12,000 years.
What's the process to build a custom home in Escondido, CA?
The process of building your custom home with Buildable is straightforward when working with our team and our dialed process. We break down the process into 3 phases: Locate, Design, and Build.
Locate Phase
During the locate phase, we will be finding the perfect location for your dream home. Our real estate team will provide you with a shortlist of options right for the project.
There are more properties than what you see on the web. Through Buildable’s proprietary Active Search process, we reach out to vacant landowners to create off-market opportunities. At any given time we may have 5-10 of these Buildable exclusive lots.
Once in contract, we will perform due diligence on the property to reduce risk and identify challenges. This includes the creation of a Land Report, which contains a 28-point audit to ensure you have all the relevant information to proceed with confidence. This step will also inform the land negotiation process.
Design Phase
During the design phase, we will procure the right designer and customize the home around all of your must-haves. We will identify the home requirements and develop a thorough plan and estimate to ensure we stay within the budget and on time.
There are many options when designing a home, and you don’t always need an Architect. We will help develop a strategy that fits your needs.
Build Phase
We will be building your dream home to your exact specifications. The building process is straightforward but will require decisions at key times during the journey. Buildable aims to make the process smooth, easy, and adaptable to the level of effort and attention you desire.
How long does it take to build a custom home in Escondido, CA?
Typically, in Escondido, building a home requires about 12 months, but that’s only the construction of your home. The custom home construction timeline also includes finding the land, designing the home, developing plans, and permitting.
So, how long does it take to build a custom home accounting for all the steps? Building a custom home in Escondido can take around 24 months when you factor in finding the land, designing the home, and building it. If you want to learn more about the time it takes to build a custom home, read our article How Long Does It Take To Build A Custom Home in San Diego?
How to choose the best custom home builder in Escondido, CA?
Finding a quality builder in Escondido can be challenging because customers have trouble vetting them. At the beginning of a project, you won’t have the scope of the home tightly defined enough for an accurate estimate. Most builders will provide you with cost estimate ranges by square footage. The other complication is that you also need to include the improvement costs that are specific to the lot, as that will be a unique driver of cost. Buildable is an A & B licensed General Contractor and will guide you through the design to achieve your budget.
Once you have plans, you can bid out your project to get a real sense of costs. Ignore the builders who provide a “foot in the door” price far lower than other bids. You must know everything that's part of the bid, including your fixtures, finishes, and appliance specifications. That’s the only way to make an apples-to-apples comparison between bids.
If you would like to learn more about picking a homebuilder, read our article on how to Hire a builder.
What to Look for When Finding Land for Sale in Escondido, CA
If you are looking to build a custom home in Escondido, finding land to buy is the first step in the process once you've determined your vision, budget, and strategy. Pricing land is a little of an art and a science, so you should look at the following:
Location within Escondido
Escondido has many different neighborhoods with a diverse set of amenities and character of homes. Typically, the custom homes we build in Escondido are in the South, North, and West of the central city area. In these places, you have homes that are worth anywhere from $1 - $3m, which would lend itself to compare to the vision of our client's custom homes.
Features of lots in Escondido
In Escondido, you have many different types of lots, from estate lots on massive acreage, large lots in communities, and big view lots. It's a great place to find land, but you should think about what is most important to you. Buildable can help translate your vision to find the best properties that would fit your vision.
Lot Price
There are beautiful areas of Escondido, and lots can be priced anywhere from $200,000 to $1,000,000. However, we've noticed that many sellers are reaching for prices on the outskirts of town that are different from any recent sales. Buildable's team can help you navigate what's on the MLS and understand the fair price of property given the required improvements.
How to Afford Buying Land in Escondido
Typical custom homes in Escondido start around a $1m all-in budget. Standard debt-to-income ratios would translate to around a $200,000 annual salary and a 20% down payment. We recommend that our clients meet with a construction loan lender to discuss potential payments based on current interest rates to determine what they can comfortably afford before kicking off the process. Buildable can help get you in touch with the right lenders at the start of the engagement.
What Happens After You Find Land You Want to Buy in Escondido?
At Buildable, we manage the entire custom home-building process from start to finish. It's essential to engage us early because we are land experts and can help evaluate the fair price of a lot with the insights only a builder can provide. Once we review the lot, we'll help you negotiate for the land and submit an offer. Once we are in contract, the Buildable team will conduct full due diligence with in-person meetings with all necessary municipal agencies and departments. Once due diligence is complete, we will deliver a land report, so you understand all the details of the lot and know what you're getting into before you purchase. This step of the process is critical, and we will partner with you to ensure you're doing it right.
Build Your Home With Buildable
Building a home in Escondido takes an immense amount of time and effort, and can appear overwhelming to those who start the journey alone. However, building a home can be straightforward when you approach the process with experts by your side who can guide you through every step.
At Buildable, all of the people you need to have a stress-free home build will work with you to create the home of your dreams. Read about our team, talk to us, and get the answers to questions you may have about starting the custom home building process in Escondido.
How is Buildable different from other custom home builders?
Buildable manages the process from start-to-finish. First, we help you locate and purchase the land ensuring that it’s capable of supporting your vision. Second, we help you design your home through a variety of cost-effective options. The most important part is having our experienced engineering team guiding you through the design process to ensure a cost-effective balance to meet your goals. Third, we bring your dream home to life by assembling quality craftsman/women to build your vision.
We are the innovators of this approach — no one else offers a similar guided process from start-to-finish.
Our Service Areas in San Diego
Buildable operates within 60 miles of San Diego proper, but we do consult nationally. If you would like to learn more about where we work, simply check out our home building service area in San Diego.
Nearby service areas in San Diego include: