Spec or build. Choosing a builder. The contract, the design center, the walkthrough, the warranty, and the one move most buyers miss. Everything I wish someone had laid out for me before I bought mine.
New construction feels simple from the outside. It is not. But it is absolutely worth it if you know how the game is played.
Cedar City is growing fast, and new homes are going up everywhere, from D.R. Horton communities like Old Sorrel to local and regional builders putting up custom and semi-custom homes across town. Prices run from the low $300,000s for a starter to well past $700,000 for a fully finished custom build.
Here is the thing nobody tells you: buying new is a totally different process than buying a resale home. Different timeline, different contract, different things to inspect, different ways to get burned, and different ways to win. This guide walks the whole thing, start to finish, in plain language. No legal jargon. Just what actually matters.
01
The first fork in the road. Most people don't realize there are two completely different ways to buy new, and they have very different timelines and stress levels.
Two paths to a brand-new home. Same destination, very different journey.
A spec home is one the builder already started, or finished, on their own. You're buying a home that's either done or close to it. Builders like Visionary Homes call these "quick move-in" homes. You skip the 200 decisions and the long wait. You see the actual house, not a rendering. You close and you're in.
You start with a lot and a floorplan, then choose everything: elevation, finishes, upgrades. You get exactly what you want, but you wait 8 to 12 months, you make a lot of decisions, and you're exposed to rate changes and material delays along the way.
My take
"I went spec, and I'd do it again. Mine was still being finished when I bought it, but it was already on the market, so I closed and got in without the year-long wait or the deadlines. I came from a 1970s home, so honestly almost anything modern was a massive upgrade. For me, convenience won."
02
If you take one thing from this guide, take this: the builder matters more than the floorplan. In and around Cedar City you've got national builders like D.R. Horton putting up volume in communities like Old Sorrel, plus regional and local builders doing semi-custom and custom work with their own floorplans and finish packages.
Every builder is different. They each have their own floorplans, their own standard finishes, and their own list of what counts as an upgrade versus what comes standard. One builder's "upgrade" is another's baseline. This is why research matters so much.
Where I come in
I keep tabs on who's building what in Cedar City, their floorplans, their finish packages, and what they include standard versus charge for. That's exactly the kind of homework I do with you so you're not comparing builders blind.
03
New construction contracts are not the same as resale contracts. Some things lock in the day you sign. Others stay surprisingly flexible, and that's where people get caught.
Know which is which before you sign.
What locks: your price, your floorplan, and your lot. Good news, those are the big ones.
What to watch: completion dates can move, sometimes by months. Allowances (the budget the builder gives you for things like flooring or fixtures) run out faster than you'd think, and anything over the allowance is on you. Change orders cost money and time. And read the fine print on what happens to your earnest money if the timeline slips badly.
04
If you're building, you'll spend a day (or several) at the builder's design center picking finishes. This is exciting, and it's also where the base price quietly becomes a much bigger number.
Base price is the starting line, not the finish line.
The move here is simple: spend on what's hard or expensive to change later. Flooring, the layout itself, electrical and structural options. Those are a pain to redo once you're living there. The cosmetic stuff (light fixtures, hardware, paint) you can swap yourself for a fraction of the upgrade price. Don't let the design center talk you into premium versions of things you could change in an afternoon.
05
While the home goes up, the city inspects it at key stages, framing, electrical, plumbing, and a final inspection. These are required and they're a good baseline. But the city inspector works for the city, not for you.
06
This is your leverage moment, and most buyers rush it. Before closing, you walk the finished home and put a piece of blue painter's tape on every flaw you find. Every scuff, every crooked outlet, every paint miss, every cabinet that doesn't close right. Those tags become the builder's punch list, the things they fix before or right after you close.
Every tag becomes a line on the builder's punch list.
How to do it right:
07
Most new homes come with a tiered builder warranty, often called a "1-2-10." It's the industry standard through third-party warranty companies, but here's the important part: not every builder offers the exact same thing. Always confirm what yours specifically covers.
The common "1-2-10." Confirm your builder's actual coverage.
Roughly, the standard breaks down as one year on workmanship (the cosmetic and finish stuff), two years on systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), and ten years on major structural elements (foundation, load-bearing frame). Utah also recognizes that a new home should be built in a workmanlike manner and be livable, which gives you a backstop if something major goes wrong.
Do this at closing
Save every warranty document and the builder's warranty department contact. You'll want it the first time something needs attention, and in a brand-new home, something always does in year one.
08
This is the tip almost nobody acts on, and it's the one that saves you the most. Your one-year workmanship warranty is the clock that runs out first. So before it does, you do a second walkthrough.
Catch everything before the one-year window closes.
At month 11, walk the whole house like it's the blue tape walkthrough all over again. By now the home has been through a full year of seasons, it's settled, and things have shown themselves: hairline cracks where drywall settled, doors that drifted out of alignment, nail pops, grout that shrank. Document all of it and submit it to the builder while it's still covered. Get that final round of fixes before the warranty expires.
Practicing what I preach
"I'm doing my own 11-month walkthrough on my place right now. Whatever I find gets documented and handed to the builder before the window closes. It's free money left on the table if you skip it."
Cedar City · Southern Utah
I bought new construction here myself, and I keep track of who's building what across Cedar City. Whether you're local or relocating from out of state, I'll help you do it right, from the first tour to the 11-month walkthrough.
Let's talk