San Antonio New Construction
Buying New Construction
in San Antonio
The builder's sales team works for the builder. On a new build, I work for you, from your first model home visit through the final walkthrough.
Questions about a new build? Call me at (919) 800-9870
Bring your own agent to your first model home visit, because many builders recognize only an agent who comes with you and registers you on that visit. On a new build, the builder pays my commission. I negotiate price, incentives, closing costs and upgrades with the builder, stay on top of the build, and attend every walkthrough with you.
Tiffany Reed, REALTOR® | MRP · Data current as of October 2026- If you tour a model home alone first, some builders won't recognize an agent you bring in later.
- Since January 1, 2026, Texas has required a signed written agreement with your agent before the agent shows you a home, and it must state that broker compensation is not set by law and is fully negotiable.
- TREC publishes New Home Contract forms, but state rules let a builder require its own contract instead.
- A builder that refers you to an affiliated lender must disclose the relationship in writing and can't require you to use that lender.
- On a VA loan, seller concessions, including a builder-paid temporary rate buydown, are capped at 4% of the home's reasonable value. Credits for the loan's closing costs aren't limited.
Why bring an agent before
your first model visit?
Because the first visit is often when a builder decides whether your agent counts. Many builders' broker policies require the agent to walk in with you and register you on your first trip to the model home or sales office, and a phone call to pre-register may not count. Fill out the guest card alone, and the builder may not recognize an agent who shows up later.
Texas added a step in 2026. Before I show you any home, new or resale, state law requires a signed written agreement between you and me that lists my services and how I'm paid.
Have a model home visit coming up?
Call me first at (919) 800-9870. I'll schedule the visit and go with you, so the builder has me down as your agent from the start.
Let's Talk About Your Next MoveWhat does a buyer's agent do
on a new build?
I manage the whole purchase with you. Here's what I handle at each stage.
| Stage | What I do |
|---|---|
| Model visits | Set them up and go with you to each one, so every builder has me down as your agent |
| Negotiation | Work out price, incentives, closing costs and upgrades with the builder |
| Financing | Connect you with lenders, including VA lenders |
| The build | Stay on top of progress and coordinate inspections as needed |
| Walkthroughs | Attend every one with you, including the blue tape and final walkthroughs, with your inspection report in hand |
The blue tape walkthrough is the punch-list visit near the end, when anything that needs fixing gets marked, often with blue painter's tape. The final walkthrough, just before closing, confirms those items were fixed.
Is new construction
negotiable?
Yes. A builder may hold firm on price in one community and bend in another, but price is only one lever. Incentives, closing costs and upgrades are all on the table.
| What to ask about | What to know |
|---|---|
| Base price | Usually covers the plan alone, before the lot premium, options and upgrades. |
| Lot premium | Some lots carry a premium over the base price. Ask the amount before you choose. |
| Closing costs | Builders often pay part of them, and some tie that offer to their preferred lender. |
| Upgrades | Design-center choices add up fast. Decide what matters before the design appointment. |
| Rate buydowns | Some builders pay to lower your rate. Compare that with a price cut over the years you'll keep the loan. |
| Move-in-ready homes | Can carry different incentives than a home built from scratch, so ask about both. |
I've negotiated significant amounts off the purchase price on new builds many times. My biggest was $70,000 off one home, on top of incentives like covered closing costs. Every builder and every deal is different, so treat that as one result, not a typical one.
Do builders use the standard
Texas contract?
Often not. TREC publishes New Home Contract forms, but Texas rules let a property owner require a contract that it or its attorney prepared, and many builders hand you their own. It's written with the builder's interests in mind, so have a Texas real estate attorney review it before you sign. Read these parts slowly:
- Deposits: how much, when each is due, and whether any comes back if the sale falls through.
- Completion date: what happens if the build runs late.
- Inspections: whether your inspector can come in during construction.
- Warranty: what it covers, for how long, and how to file a claim.
Do you need an inspection
on a new home?
Yes. City code inspections check the work against the building code at set points; they aren't a review of the house on your behalf. Outside city limits, ask the builder which inspections the home gets and who does them. An independent inspector works for you. Texas licenses home inspectors through TREC, and you can confirm a license on TREC's license holder search. Ask about phase inspections:
- Pre-pour, before the foundation is poured.
- Pre-drywall, while framing, wiring, plumbing and ductwork are still visible.
- Final, ahead of the blue tape walkthrough, so findings make the punch list.
Builders set their own rules on inspector access, so get them in writing before you sign. I coordinate inspections as needed, then bring the inspection report to your walkthroughs and go through the whole thing with you, item by item, so each fix gets checked.
Should you use the builder's
preferred lender?
Only if it's the best total deal. Many builders tie incentives to their own or an affiliated lender. The offer can be good, or it can come with a rate or fees that eat into it. Federal rules require a builder that refers you to an affiliated lender or title company to disclose that relationship in writing, and the builder can't require you to use that company.
Request Loan Estimates from the builder's lender and at least one other lender; each has to send one within three business days of your request. Then compare the rate, the fees and the incentive's dollar value side by side.
Can you use a VA loan
on new construction?
Yes. A VA-approved appraiser gives an opinion of the new home's value and checks it against the VA's minimum property requirements (MPRs), its basic standards for a home's condition. That appraisal isn't an inspection. Since 2006, the VA has relied on local building inspections and builder warranties instead of inspecting new homes itself, and it doesn't step in to make a builder fix defects. Your own inspector matters more, not less.
- Incentives have a ceiling. Seller concessions are capped at 4% of reasonable value, the VA appraiser's figure on your Notice of Value, while credits toward normal closing costs aren't limited. A builder-paid temporary rate buydown or funding fee credit counts toward the 4%, so ask your lender how the builder's offer will be structured.
- Check for the VA escape clause. If you sign before the VA's Notice of Value comes back, your contract has to include it, even on a builder's own contract. It lets you walk away without losing your earnest money if the price comes in above the VA's value. Upgrade deposits paid to the builder don't count as earnest money and aren't covered by the clause, so ask how the builder handles them before you pay one.
My free VA Loan Guide covers entitlement, the funding fee and the rest of the basics.
Where are new homes being built
around San Antonio?
Mostly on the edges of the metro: northeast along I-35 and FM 78 out to New Braunfels and San Marcos, north into the Hill Country along US 281 and I-10, and on the far northwest side around Alamo Ranch.
| Area | What's being built |
|---|---|
| Converse | Lennar, KB Home and M/I Homes communities, with base prices from the high $170,000s into the low $300,000s |
| Cibolo | D.R. Horton's Steele Creek, with base prices from about $350,000 |
| Schertz | The Crossvine and Homestead, with base prices from about $443,000 |
| New Braunfels | Large master-planned communities, including Veramendi and Meyer Ranch |
| San Marcos | Master-planned communities such as La Cima, Trace and Blanco Vista, plus Lennar's River Bridge Ranch |
| Alamo Ranch | Phases from several production builders, in Northside ISD |
| Timberwood Park | Newer sections where builders are still adding homes |
| Boerne | Ongoing building in and around the city |
| Bulverde | Master-planned subdivisions in Comal ISD, changing as each one builds out |
| Marion | Newer subdivisions just outside the city limits |
Helotes and Live Oak have only a little new construction. Wherever you build, check for a MUD (municipal utility district), a district that taxes the homes inside it to pay for water, sewer and drainage. In some Comal County communities, it adds close to $1 per $100 of value to the tax rate.
Data current as of October 2026 · Base prices leave out lot premiums and upgrades · Sources: builder websites, linked on each neighborhood guideWhat should you do
before visiting a model home?
Model homes are often dressed in upgrades. Arrive knowing what you're there for.
- Set a ceiling above base price. Decide the most you'll spend on a lot premium and upgrades together before anyone walks you through the design center.
- Know your payment, not just your approval. Taxes, HOA dues, any MUD rate and insurance vary by community.
- List must-haves and deal-breakers. One story, a downstairs bedroom, a garage that fits your truck: decide before the model decides for you.
- Name your HOA deal-breakers. If a fence rule, boat or RV parking limit, leasing restriction or pet limit would rule out a community, tell me and I'll find out before the visit.
- Think about the lot and orientation. Which way the house faces decides where the afternoon sun lands.
- Ask what's standard and what's an upgrade. Get the features list for your plan, since the model's flooring, lighting and cabinets may all be extras.
My free guide goes deeper on builder contracts, the real cost of upgrades and MUD taxes.
Get the Free New Construction Buyer GuideHow does a new build go
when you work with me?
From the first model visit to closing, two things don't change:
- The same person at every stage. The agent at your first model visit is the one at your final walkthrough.
- Another quote on your loan. I'll connect you with other lenders, VA lenders included, so the builder's offer isn't the only one on the table.
What buyers ask about
new construction.
Do I need a realtor to buy new construction in Texas?
No law requires one, and the builder's sales team can write up the sale. That team represents the builder, though, and the contract is often the builder's own. If you want someone negotiating for you, bring your agent before you fill out a guest card.
Who pays the buyer's agent on a new build?
When you buy a new build with me, the builder pays my commission. You'll still sign the written agreement Texas requires before I show you a home, and it states how my pay is set. By law, that pay is negotiable, not fixed.
I already visited a model home. Can I still bring an agent?
Sometimes. Tell me which builders you've visited, and I'll check whether I can still be added as your agent. Some builders allow it and some don't, so call me before you go back or sign anything.
What's the difference between a move-in-ready home and a to-be-built home?
A move-in-ready home, sometimes called a spec or quick move-in home, is one the builder started without a buyer, so you can often close sooner, but the plan and most finishes are already chosen. A to-be-built home starts after you sign, so you pick the plan, lot and finishes, then wait for construction.
Why do property taxes jump after the first year in a new home?
Texas appraises property at its value on January 1. If the house wasn't finished that day, the first bill may cover little more than the lot, and the next one covers the whole home, so your escrow payment rises to catch up. Since the builder had no homestead exemption on the home, you can apply for yours as soon as you own and live in it, for the rest of that tax year.
Do I have to use the builder's lender to get the incentives?
The builder can't require you to use its affiliated lender, but many builders tie incentives to it. Ask for the incentive amount in writing with and without the builder's lender, so you know exactly what an outside loan would cost you.
Thinking about
a new build?
Whether you're touring this weekend or a year out, tell me your price range and the parts of town you like. I'll set up the model visits and handle the builder from there.
Let's Talk About Your Next MovePrefer the phone? Call me at (919) 800-9870. Not ready to talk yet? Start with the free New Construction Buyer Guide.
Tiffany Reed, REALTOR® | MRP | Real Broker LLC
(919) 800-9870 | tiffany@tiffanyreedtx.com | tiffanyreedtx.com
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