Another way to improve your summer living in Texas if you currently reside in the state or are looking to move here, besides building a pool, is to build a custom home on or near a lake.
Texas has some great lakes. As you consider where to build your new home in North Texas, consider building a waterfront home or lakehouse. You can enjoy living on the lake and seeing those waterfront views all year long, while being able to welcome friends and family over for summer vacation.
If you’re thinking about building a lakefront home, consider:
Your first thought when it comes to building a home on a lake is probably the views and recreational activities you’ll find there. But there are actually many other benefits of lake living:
If you’re ready to start the home building process to build your custom home on the lake or just want an overview of the home building process for lake houses, here are the steps you will go through:
Here are some added features you’ll want to think about:
Below are some of our home plans we think would be ideal for a lakefront home in Texas:
The Archer floor plan offers an extended covered patio option or front porch add-on, as well as having the master, family room and eating area located at the back of the home.
The Bankhead floor plan offers a covered back patio and front porch add-on. The master bedroom, family room and eating area are also located at the back of the house.
The Bosque floor plan is great if you have kids who would enjoy the waterfront view, as well, or if you’d like to offer your guests a waterfront view. This particular plan has one bedroom, family room, eating area and master bedroom located at the back of the house.
The Calvin floor plan is another great one that has a bedroom, family room, eating area and master bedroom at the back of the house. It also offers a back patio off the eating area where you could set out patio furniture or an outdoor table to enjoy sitting outside.
If you liked the Calvin floor plan, you’ll really love our Grandview floor plan. While it also has a bedroom, family room, eating area and master bedroom located at the back of the house, it also comes with a covered patio.
The Clearfork plan has the same back-of-the-house features as the Grandview and Calvin but offers a porch vs. patio and is less square feet than the previous two plans if you’re looking for something a bit smaller.
Finally, the Meridian plan is another great option if you’d like to maximize those waterfront views. It is a 2-story home plan with the family room and eating area located at the back of the house on the first story, along with an optional covered patio off the eating area, as well as another activity or family-like room and a bedroom located at the back of the house upstairs.
Building a custom home on a lake can take anywhere from 4 to 12 months. The timeline for your custom lake house will depend on a few factors:
When it comes to home building, it’s important to understand that not only will you have to choose between home builders, but you will need to choose the type of builder you want for your custom home, which can impact your timeline and where you build.
There are production builders, semi-custom builders and fully custom builders.
Production builders often have a set neighborhood you build in and depending on availability can usually build houses pretty quick because there isn’t a lot of customization.
Semi-custom builders are a great middle ground because they have set plans you can customize and you can usually choose where you want to build.
Fully custom builders will definitely let you build wherever you want and with whichever plan you’d like, but because there is total freedom in customizations, it can usually take the longest to build.
If you choose a floor plan that is totally custom or has lots of unique add-ons and features, it may take longer to build than a simple floor plan builders are used to building.
While you should build the home you want, you’ll just want to keep that in mind when it comes to a home building timeline.
When you’re building on a lake or out in the country, you will likely need more site development than building in the city, which will add some more time to your timeline. As you look for a lot on or by the lake, consider how much work will be required to get the lot ready to build. If you’re unsure, talk to your builder about coming out to the lot site with you.
The more features and upgrades you add, the additional time your home will take to complete, so this is another factor to remember if you are pressed on time for your new home. If you need help deciding which custom features and upgrades to consider, check out this article.
For this article, we’re going to focus primarily on the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Below, you’ll find some of the many popular lakes in and around Dallas-Fort Worth, along with current lot and property values, so you’ll know how much you’ll need to invest for the land and the possible appraisal value you might find for a home in each area.
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Northern Lakes
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Eastern Lakes
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Southern Lakes
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Western Lakes (Our Build Area) |
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Northern Lakes |
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Lake Ray HubbardProperty values: $335k - $2.9M Lot values: $15k - $5M |
Lewisville LakeProperty values: $365k - $1.5M Lot values: $115k - $7.14M |
Lake Ray RobertsProperty values: $350K - $3.5M Lot values: $15K - $7.5M
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Grapevine LakeProperty values: $400K - $25M Lot values: $110K - $1.5M |
Eastern Lakes |
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White Rock LakeProperty values: $425K - $3.25M Lot values: $650K - $2M
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Lavon LakeProperty values: $260K - $8M Lot values: $88K - $6M |
Lake TawakoniProperty values: $40K - $2M Lot values: $15K - $950K |
Lake ForkProperty values: $75K - $2.6M Lot values: $14K - $675K |
Southern Lakes |
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Joe Pool LakeProperty values: $300K - $3.4M Lot values: $120K - $1.3M |
Cedar Creek ReservoirProperty values: $99K - $5M Lot values: $10K - $1.2M
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Bardwell LakeProperty values: $110K - $1.2M Lot values: $30K - $2M |
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Western LakesThere are some great lakes on the west side of Fort Worth, many of which fall within the boundary of where we build custom homes. If you are looking to build with Hedgefield Homes and are open to the location of your new home, consider the following lakes for your custom home: |
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Lake Mineral WellsLocated in Parker County and Palo Pinto County. State park surrounds the lake but you can build nearby.
Property values: $500K - $700K Lot values: $250K - $750K |
Eagle Mountain LakeLocated in Wise and Tarrant County and surrounded by cities like Briar, Azle and Fort Worth.
Property values: $250K - $2M Lot values: $55K - $2M |
Lake BridgeportLocated in Wise County and surrounded by Bridgeport.
Property values: $300K - $2.8M Lot values: $25K - $1.35M |
Benbrook LakeLocated in Tarrant County and surrounded by cities like Benbrook and Primrose.
Property values: $440K - $2.7M Lot values: $50K - $400K
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Lake WorthLocated in Tarrant County.
Property values - $450K - $750K Lot values - $55K - $2M
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Lake GranburyLocated in Hood County and surrounded by cities like Granbury and Pecan Plantation.
Property value: $200K - $4M Lot Value: $20K - $200K
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Possum Kingdom LakeProperty values: $595K - $8.2M Lot values: $15k - $600K
*Property and lot values were sourced from Zillow.
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