What Does a Custom Home Cost in North Carolina? (2026)
The honest answer is that it depends on the lot, the size and the finishes. But you shouldn’t have to guess. Here’s how pricing works on an ExCo home in Wilkes County and the High Country, what the number includes, and what moves it.
Where ExCo homes start
Homes typically start at $350 per square foot and up. At that price, a home often includes typical site work, septic and a well: clearing the home site, a driveway under 100 feet, drainage, and a well up to 500 feet deep.
What moves the number up
- The house itself. Size, the shape of the floor plan, and the roofline. More corners and roof lines mean more labor.
- Finishes. Stone, timber, big glass, custom millwork and a high-end kitchen add up quickly.
- The lot. A steep lot, a long driveway, retaining walls, heavy rock or a deeper well. Here’s what to know about building on a steep lot.
- The foundation. A crawl space usually costs the least; a walkout basement or a tall foundation on a steep lot costs more.
What isn’t in the per-square-foot number
- The land
- Site work beyond the typical: a longer driveway, retaining walls or heavy rock
- A well deeper than 500 feet, priced by the foot
- The design agreement
Why a per-square-foot number is only a starting point
Averages you find online mix production homes, other states and very different finish levels. Two homes the same size can be hundreds of thousands of dollars apart. A real number comes from finished drawings of your home on your lot.
How we get you to a real number
- Site walk. We walk your lot with you and survey it ourselves before anything is drawn.
- Design agreement. Our in-house design team draws your home under a paid design agreement, detailed enough to price accurately. Already have plans? We build from outside plans too.
- Fixed-price contract. When the design is done, you get one fixed price built from those drawings, with allowances for anything you haven’t picked yet.
- Changes in writing. If you change something after signing, it’s priced as a written change order you approve before the work happens.
Building in the mountains?
Mountain lots have their own costs: see the hidden costs and perks of building a mountain home and building in Boone and Blowing Rock.
Common questions
How much does a custom home cost per square foot in NC?
Our homes typically start at $350 per square foot and up, and at that price often include typical site work, septic and a well up to 500 feet deep.
Does that include the land?
No. The land is separate.
Is the price fixed?
Yes. Once the design is done, you get a fixed-price contract built from the drawings, with allowances for selections you haven’t made yet.
What is a design agreement?
It’s the paid design phase. Our design team draws your home in enough detail to price it accurately, so the number you sign is a number we can build to.
Start a conversation
Call (336) 990-9420 or tell us about your lot. See how a build moves from start to finish on our process page.