New & Custom Home Builders in San Marcos, CA
Build your custom home in San Marcos, CA
How much does it cost to build a home in San Marcos, 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 San Marcos. We estimate that the cost to build a home in San Marcos 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 San Marcos, CA?
San Marcos is a beautiful city with lots of large developments, land with views, and lots within established communities. Areas like San Elijo Hills, Richland, and Lake San Marcos all offer beautiful living options — each with different land/lot sizes and prices. San Marcos features some big lots with ocean views, in-fill lots in established communities, and small urban lots along the 78 corridor. In San Marcos, lots with minimal improvements will typically cost buyers between $350,000 - $500,000.
Land in San Marcos includes the following zip codes: 92024, 92029, 92069, 92078, 92079, and 92096
If you would like an estimate for your project, use our Land/Build Calculator.
Why San Marcos, CA is a great place to live
San Marcos is a moderately-sized suburb in north San Diego with a population of approximately 95,000 people. The area is densely populated, but still offers a suburban feel with lots of restaurants, shops, parks, and other activities. Old California Restaurant Row is in the heart of San Marcos and contains a wide variety of many highly-touted restaurants like Landon’s East Meets West and Old California Mining. San Marcos is also home to multiple highly-rated public schools, making it a great place for people with children to live. It also contains California State University, San Marcos — a great 4-year college option for students who want to stay close to home. Additionally, San Marcos is great for anyone who wants to explore various areas within San Diego, as it is only a moderate commute to multiple different beaches, mountains, and the desert.
Things to do in San Marcos, CA
San Marcos has plenty of outdoor spaces and cozy local spots to spend your days should you make your home here. For a peaceful Saturday afternoon in the area, you can visit Discovery Lake. The lake is nestled in a lovely out-of-the-way park where you can sit and watch the birds, or follow a short trail that circles the lake. If you’re up for a challenge, you can take a side trail up to the top of Double Peak for a stunning view
To actually get out on the water, you can head to Lake San Marcos and take the #1 boat tour in San Marcos, the Black Swan Gondola. These tours offer beautiful views of the lake and are perfect for a date night, photoshoot, or special occasion. Make memories that will last a lifetime on this intimate, scenic tour.
At the end of your night, if you’re a fan of local beer, stop by Rip Current Brewery off Highway 78. The brewery’s original location in San Marcos features a wide selection of robust, flavorful beers in styles from around the world. The location also has food trucks so you can get a meal with your brew, and is kid- and dog-friendly.
Spend your Sunday morning antiquing at the local Antique Village, a consignment shop featuring a wide array of local treasures. You never know what you’ll find when you walk through the door, but you won’t walk out empty-handed. Open 7 days a week, this store is a must-go for residents and visitors alike.
What's the process to build a custom home in San Marcos, 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 San Marcos, CA?
Typically, in San Marcos, 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 San Marcos 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 San Marcos, CA?
Finding a quality builder in San Marcos 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.
Build your home with Buildable
Building a home in San Marcos 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 San Marcos.
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 new home building service area.
Nearby service areas in San Diego include: