Custom Home Building in Comanche Trace: ARC, Lots, and Builders

Building a custom home in Comanche Trace means buying a specific lot, selecting from hand-picked builders, and clearing every plan through the Architectural Review Committee. Estate, golf course, and garden neighborhoods each come with their own minimum sizes and style expectations, so you cannot simply drop in a generic plan. Done right, the process gives you a tailored Hill Country house that fits the community, your lifestyle, and long-term ownership costs.

Lots and Homesite Types

Comanche Trace offers garden home, single-family, golf course, and estate lots, including recent one- to 1.5‑acre estate releases overlooking the Creeks Course.

• Garden home and villa sections emphasize lower maintenance living and tighter architectural coordination around shared streetscapes.
• Interior and golf course lots typically carry higher minimum square footage expectations and more flexibility in footprint and outdoor living.
• Estate lots up to roughly one and one half acres support larger homes, deeper setbacks, and more substantial landscape plans.

Preferred Builders

The community maintains a Preferred Builders list featuring firms with proven Hill Country custom experience and consistent delivery under Comanche Trace standards.

• Named builders include White Construction, Agave Custom Homes, Hill Country Signature Homes, Menger Creek Builders, Texas Living Homes, and Stavinoha Homes.
• Certain garden and villa sections, such as Albatross Way or the Villas at Turtle Creek, limit construction to a short list of exclusive builders.
• Elsewhere, buyers can interview multiple Preferred Builders, and in some cases petition to bring an outside builder that meets association criteria.

ARC Design Review

All custom homes run through the Architectural Review Committee (ARC), which enforces minimum size, material, and siting rules across the development.

• Typical steps include an early site meeting, preliminary review of plan concepts, and a full final submission before permits and construction.
• Guidelines cover minimum air‑conditioned square footage, approved exterior finishes, roof forms, height, setbacks, and landscape standards.
• Owners must budget for ARC fees, revision rounds, and the time needed to coordinate architect, builder, and committee feedback.

Costs, Timelines, and Expectations

A realistic custom-build plan in Comanche Trace combines land cost, hard construction costs, soft costs, and carry costs during the build.

• Soft costs include design, engineering, ARC fees, surveys, and potential soil or topo work before foundations are poured.
• Build timelines often run twelve to eighteen months from design kickoff, depending on complexity, weather, and labor conditions.
• HOA dues and any required club memberships typically start when you own the lot, not when the home is finished, so budget accordingly.

Building in Comanche Trace FAQs

What architectural styles are popular in Comanche Trace?

Common styles include Garden Patio, German Cottage, traditional and contemporary Hill Country, Tuscan and Mediterranean, and French Country-inspired designs reviewed through community guidelines. Many custom homes blend stone, stucco, metal or tile roofs, and outdoor living areas to maximize golf course and Hill Country views while staying inside approved palettes.

Tell me more about the ARC's review process for new homes.

The ARC typically starts with a site meeting to confirm placement and topography, then reviews preliminary architectural concepts before accepting a full construction set. They check minimum size, exterior materials, roof style, height, setbacks, and landscape plans against guidelines and CC&Rs, issuing conditions that must be met before you break ground.

What are the HOA fees for Comanche Trace?

Recent information places base HOA dues for standard lots in the mid‑$800s per year, with additional dues in certain villa and condo-style sections. Exact amounts vary by neighborhood and can change over time, so buyers should verify current dues, fees, and any required memberships for each specific lot or home before writing an offer.

Key Takeaways

• Custom building in Comanche Trace starts with selecting a specific homesite, then pairing it with a builder who understands community guidelines.
• Lot types include garden, golf course, and estate sections, each with different minimum home sizes, view opportunities, and landscape expectations to consider.
• A short list of Preferred Builders has been hand-selected by the community for quality, craftsmanship, and consistent delivery under Comanche Trace standards.
• The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) controls placement, architecture, materials, height, and landscaping, so all plans must be approved before construction begins.
• Your real budget includes land cost, hard construction costs, soft costs like design and ARC fees, plus HOA dues and any club carry while building.
• Early coordination with your agent, architect, builder, and HOA helps avoid redesigns, delays, and surprise restrictions after you have already closed on a lot.

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Why Build a Custom Home in Comanche Trace

Choosing to build instead of buying resale in Comanche Trace is about tailoring views, layout, and finishes to your life instead of settling. The community’s lot mix, builder bench, and design rules give you enough structure to protect values while still leaving room for creativity. For buyers who know what they want—or what they do not want—custom often delivers the cleanest long-term fit.

• Control over placement: You can orient your home to maximize golf, Hill Country, or privacy views instead of accepting where a resale already sits.
• Match layout to lifestyle: Custom plans let you prioritize one-level living, guest suites, hobby spaces, or multi-generational setups without forced compromises.
• Future-proofing: Building new lets you bake in energy efficiency, storage, and technology from day one instead of retrofitting later at higher cost.
• Design within standards: ARC guidelines keep neighbors aligned on quality and character, which generally supports resale and financing confidence over time.
• Leverage Preferred Builders: Working with builders who already know Comanche Trace reduces friction on ARCs, inspections, and punch-list expectations.

Lot Types, Sizes, and Minimum Home Requirements

Lots in Comanche Trace range from compact garden homes to one- to one and one half-acre estates overlooking the Creeks Course, with new single-family and estate homesites released periodically on the official available lots page. Garden neighborhoods may allow smaller footprints, while many interior and golf lots expect roughly two thousand five hundred square feet or more, and some estate sections trend higher.

• Garden and villa lots: Often cluster near the clubhouse or specific streets, emphasizing lower-maintenance yards, shared aesthetics, and tighter design coordination.
• Interior single-family lots: Typically support standard custom and semi-custom plans, with room for three-car garages and covered outdoor living spaces.
• Golf course frontage: Lots along fairways prioritize view corridors, ball-safety considerations, and landscape plans that frame but do not block vistas.
• Estate homesites: Larger one- to 1.5-acre tracts are suited to higher minimum sizes, deeper setbacks, and more extensive driveway and landscape designs.
• Section-specific rules: Minimum air-conditioned square footage and height limits vary by phase, so you must match plans to that exact plat, not just the ZIP code.

Homesite type	Typical lot size	Typical minimum home size	Best fit buyer profile
Garden home or villas	Smaller platted lots within clustered neighborhoods	Often around 1,800+ square feet	Buyers prioritizing low-maintenance living, lock-and-leave setups, and quick access to club amenities.
Interior single-family lots	Roughly standard suburban widths and depths	Commonly near or above 2,500 square feet	Full-time residents wanting yard space, garages, and flexible floor plans within an established golf community.
Golf course homesites	Similar depth with frontage along selected holes	Frequently 2,500 square feet and larger	Owners who want fairway views, outdoor living, and direct connection to golf and club activity.
Estate homesites	About one to 1.5 acres on select streets	Often 3,500+ square feet expectations	Buyers seeking more privacy, larger garages, and expanded single-level or two-story custom designs.

Preferred Builders and Exclusive Neighborhoods

Instead of an open free-for-all, Comanche Trace uses a Preferred Builders list to keep quality and expectations consistent. The current bench includes names like White Construction, Texas Living Homes, Hill Country Signature Homes, Menger Creek Builders, Agave Custom Homes, and Stavinoha Homes, alongside additional featured builders on the official site. Certain garden sections limit you to specific builders, while others remain more flexible.

• Core Preferred Builders: The featured group has proven portfolios in Hill Country architecture, custom detailing, and working under Comanche Trace standards.
• Garden home exclusives: Neighborhoods such as Albatross Way or Sitterle-built garden enclaves rely on a very short builder list and coordinated plans.
• Villas at Turtle Creek: Villas product pairs pre-designed plans with exclusive builders, making the design process more streamlined but less custom.
• Bringing your own builder: In some areas you can propose an outside builder, but expect extra vetting and no guarantee of approval.
• Interview and compare: Even among Preferred Builders, you should compare pricing structure, allowances, supervision model, and communication style before signing.

Inside the Architectural Review Committee Process

The Architectural Review Committee is not optional paperwork; it is the gatekeeper for every new build, major addition, and visible exterior change. Their job is to preserve overall quality and cohesion across phases by enforcing Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions (CC&Rs) plus separate architectural guidelines. Expect several touchpoints, clear submittal requirements, and written conditions you must satisfy before and during construction.

• Site meeting: Early walk of the lot to discuss topography, buildable envelope, driveway approach, drainage, and view impacts on neighbors.
• Preliminary review: Conceptual floor plans and elevations are checked for size, massing, roof forms, and basic material direction before you spend on full drawings.
• Final plan approval: Full architectural, structural, and landscape sets are reviewed for strict compliance before you apply for permits or mobilize trades.
• Revisions and conditions: ARC may request tweaks to rooflines, materials, or siting; approvals often carry conditions that must be followed in the field.
• Inspections and sign-off: Some communities reserve the right to inspect during or after construction to confirm conformance before final approval.

ARC stage	When it occurs	Main focus areas	What owners should prepare
Site meeting	Soon after lot purchase, before formal design	Lot topography, view lines, setbacks, driveway options	Survey, preliminary ideas for home placement, questions about challenges or constraints.
Preliminary review	After concept plan and elevations are drafted	Overall massing, style compatibility, rooflines, basic materials	Floor plans, front and rear elevations, initial exterior material palette.
Final plan review	Before permits and builder contract lock-in	Detailed compliance with CC&Rs, guidelines, and landscape standards	Full architectural set, site plan, grading and drainage, landscape and lighting concepts.
Construction oversight	During and near completion of build	Conformance to approved plans, visible material choices, landscape installation	Responsiveness to ARC questions and willingness to correct visible deviations.

Budget, Soft Costs, and Timeline for a Custom Build

Too many buyers price land and stick costs into a simple “dollars per square foot” estimate, then get surprised by everything else. In Comanche Trace, your real budget includes land, hard construction, soft costs, and carrying costs while you build. A clean upfront worksheet makes it easier to choose between sections, builders, and feature levels without blowing your long-term payment comfort zone.

• Land and due diligence: Include the lot price, closing costs, surveys, and any geotech or engineering needed because of slope or soil conditions.
• Hard construction: Structure, finishes, mechanicals, and allowances for tile, appliances, and fixtures; builder bids should spell these out clearly.
• Soft costs: Design fees, ARC fees, permitting, temporary utilities, and potential consultants such as structural engineers or landscape designers.
• Carry while building: Interest, property taxes, HOA dues, and any required club dues accrue even before you move furniture in.
• Contingency and upgrades: Build in margin for change orders, minor scope creep, and inflation on items not locked in at contract signing.

HOA, CC&Rs, and Public Records You Should Pull

A custom build in Comanche Trace sits inside a larger web of association and public records that define what you can do with your land. That includes the Comanche Trace Ranch Community Association, management certificates filed with the state, CC&Rs and design guidelines, and county appraisal and tax information. Skipping this homework means discovering deal-breakers after you have already closed on the dirt.

• Association governance: Review HOA websites and management certificates to understand board structure, enforcement powers, and where design authority actually sits.
• CC&Rs and amendments: These recorded documents function as the community rulebook for use, architecture, maintenance, and enforcement.
• Architectural guidelines: Separate from CC&Rs, they dive into minimum home size, materials, roof pitch, fences, and landscape expectations by section.
• Appraisal and tax data: Use the county appraisal district and tax office sites to gauge assessed values and likely property tax obligations after build-out.
• Recorded plats and easements: County land records reveal building lines, easements, and drainage patterns that will shape your custom design.

Build Versus Buy in Comanche Trace

Building new is not the default answer for every buyer. Comanche Trace also offers finished homes—including some very recent builds—through both the community’s own sales team and area brokerages. A systematic build-versus-buy comparison should weigh not just sticker price, but timing, risk tolerance, customization needs, and the opportunity cost of waiting through a long construction cycle.

• Speed to occupancy: Resale homes can often close in 30–60 days; custom builds may take a year or more once plans are finalized.
• Customization level: Building lets you control more details, but many recent resales already match modern layouts and finish preferences.
• Budget clarity: Resales have more predictable total cost, while builds have more moving parts and risk of increases mid-stream.
• Section availability: Some sections may be sold out on lots but active on resale, or vice versa, which can push your decision either way.
• Long-term plans: If you expect to stay a decade or more, a custom home tailored to your needs may justify the extra time and complexity.

How to Get Started as a Custom Buyer in Comanche Trace

If you decide building is the move, an organized first thirty to sixty days makes the rest of the process less painful. That means picking a budget range, clarifying your must-haves, walking the community with an agent who actually knows it, and interviewing builders before you fall in love with any one plan. The goal is aligning lot, design, and financing before you commit.

• Clarify budget and timeline: Work with a lender and agent to set realistic price and timeframe ranges before you start touring lots.
• Tour by section: Walk garden, golf, and estate phases at different times of day to judge light, traffic, and activity level.
• Pull documents early: Ask for CC&Rs, architectural guidelines, and management certificates before you write offers on any specific lot.
• Interview builders: Meet at least two Preferred Builders to compare process, allowances, and recent Comanche Trace projects.
• Decide build versus buy: Compare a realistic custom scenario to current finished inventory so your final choice is grounded in actual numbers.

The Bottom Line

Building a custom home in Comanche Trace is more complicated than picking a plan out of a catalogue, but the structure is there to help, not hurt. Lot types, Preferred Builders, ARC oversight, and CC&Rs all work together to keep quality high and values stable while still leaving room for genuine custom homes. If you take the time upfront to understand rules, costs, and timelines—and bring in professionals who already know the community—you are much more likely to end up with a house that fits both your life and your long-term balance sheet.

References Used

• Comanche Trace – Available Lots and current garden, single-family, and estate homesite descriptions
• Comanche Trace – Preferred Builders list and profiles for core custom builders
• Comanche Trace Ranch Community Association – HOA governance and architectural control overview
• Texas HOA Management Certificate Search – Official filings for Comanche Trace and similar communities
• Texas State Law Library – Restrictive covenants and CC&Rs research guide for property owners’ associations
• Kerr Central Appraisal District – Property appraisal and tax information for Kerr County homesites

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose the right lot type in Comanche Trace?

Start with how you actually live. Garden and villa lots favor lower maintenance and proximity to amenities, interior lots emphasize traditional yards and garages, and estate lots prioritize space and privacy. Walk each section at different times of day, consider views, traffic, and noise, then match those observations to your long-term plans and budget.

Are there minimum square footage requirements for custom homes?

Yes. Many interior and golf course sections expect roughly 2,500 square feet or more of air-conditioned space, while selected estate phases trend toward 3,500 square feet and up. Garden or villa neighborhoods may allow smaller footprints, but each plat and guideline set is different. Always confirm minimum size requirements for the exact lot before finalizing plans.

Do I have to use a Preferred Builder, or can I bring my own?

Most buyers in Comanche Trace work with one of the community’s Preferred Builders, because those firms already understand local standards and the ARC process. In some areas, especially garden or villa neighborhoods, the builder list is exclusive. In others, it may be possible to propose an outside builder, but approval is not guaranteed and usually requires extra vetting.

How long does it usually take to build a custom home in Comanche Trace?

From design kickoff through move-in, many Comanche Trace custom homes run twelve to eighteen months, assuming steady labor, material availability, and no major redesigns. Expect additional time on the front end for lot selection, ARC meetings, and final approvals. Weather, change orders, and complex architecture can extend timelines further, so it is smart to build cushions into your expectations.

What does the ARC look for when reviewing plans?

The Architectural Review Committee focuses on whether your design fits recorded CC&Rs and written guidelines for your section. That means confirming minimum square footage, approved exterior materials, roof style and pitch, height limits, setbacks, and landscape standards. They also consider impact on neighboring views and streetscape consistency. Clear, complete submittals generally move faster than partial or vague drawings.

Can I start construction before receiving final ARC approval?

Practically speaking, no. Starting grading, foundation work, or framing before final ARC approval is risky and may violate community rules. If the committee later requires changes, you could face stop-work requests or expensive tear-outs. Builders who work in Comanche Trace regularly will insist on documented approvals before mobilizing trades to protect both you and themselves.

How do HOA rules and CC&Rs affect my custom design?

HOA rules and CC&Rs establish what you can build, where you can place it, and how it must look from the street and golf course. They can limit exterior materials, color palettes, fence locations, driveway layouts, and accessory structures. Those same rules also protect you from jarring neighboring designs that could hurt curb appeal or property value.

What soft costs should I expect besides the construction price?

Soft costs for a Comanche Trace build often include architect fees, engineering, ARC submission fees, surveys, soil testing if needed, and permitting. You may also pay for temporary utilities, landscape design, and lender-related costs on a construction or lot loan. Ignoring these items makes early estimates useless, so they should sit in your first budget draft.

How can I compare building new versus buying resale in Comanche Trace?

Compare completed numbers, not just wishful thinking. Price out land, realistic build cost, soft costs, and carry to a total and timeline, then compare that to current finished homes. Factor in how long you plan to stay, how well resales match your needs, and your tolerance for construction stress before deciding which path truly fits.

Who should be on my custom-build team for Comanche Trace?

A strong team usually includes a local real estate agent familiar with Comanche Trace, a lender experienced with land and construction financing, an architect who understands Hill Country design, and a Preferred Builder with recent work in the community. You will also interact with the HOA or ARC, surveyors, and various inspectors over the course of the project.