Episode 04
New Construction · 9 min read
El Paso has roughly 10 active home builders operating across four primary growth corridors: Horizon City, the Far East, the Northeast, and the West Side. CareFree Homes is the city's highest-volume builder. Hakes Brothers has the broadest geographic reach. Campo del Sol in the Northeast is the city's largest master-planned development. Here is the complete directory with price ranges, communities, and builder profiles.
If you're buying new construction in El Paso, understanding who builds where - and at what price point - is the foundation of your search. This directory covers every active builder with current communities in the market.
Unlike many metros, El Paso's new construction market is geographically concentrated. Most builders operate in one or two primary corridors. Choosing a builder also means choosing a location - so your first decision (submarket) often narrows your builder options, and vice versa.
El Paso new construction is concentrated in:
Primary areas: Horizon City, Far East, Socorro, East Side Price range: From the $190s to $350s+ Website: carefreehomes.com
CareFree Homes is widely regarded as El Paso's highest-volume production builder, with active communities across Horizon City, the Far East, and now Socorro. The company has built in El Paso for decades and is known for delivering move-in-ready homes at accessible price points with consistent quality and a broad floor plan selection.
Active/recent communities:
Why buyers choose CareFree Homes: High name recognition, established track record in El Paso, broad range of floor plans, and multiple active communities across different price points in multiple submarkets.
Primary areas: Far East (Mission Ridge), Horizon City, Socorro, West Side Price range: From the $190s to $400s+ (varies widely by community) Website: hakesbrothers.com
Hakes Brothers has the broadest geographic reach of any El Paso builder, operating in virtually every new-construction submarket simultaneously. The company markets itself as a semi-custom builder, offering buyers meaningful choices in floor plan, elevation, and finishes within each community's design framework.
Active/recent communities:
Why buyers choose Hakes Brothers: Wide selection across submarkets, meaningful customization options, and price points that range from first-time-buyer-accessible ($190s) to luxury ($400s+) depending on the community.
Primary areas: Far East, East Side Price range: Mid $200s - $350s Website: bichomes.com
BIC Homes markets itself as "affordable luxury" with an emphasis on energy efficiency and modern design. The company is an established presence in the Far East growth corridor and appeals to buyers who want a contemporary aesthetic with upgraded features at a production-home price point.
Why buyers choose BIC Homes: Energy-efficient construction, modern finishes as standard (not upgrade), and competitive pricing in the Far East corridor.
Primary areas: Northeast (Campo del Sol), various Price range: Mid $200s - $320s Website: classicamericanhomestx.com
Classic American Homes is one of the four builders operating within the Campo del Sol master-planned community in the Northeast - El Paso's largest single master-planned development (2,313 acres, 9,500 units at buildout). The company builds mid-range family homes with traditional layouts.
About Campo del Sol: Developed by Franklin Mountain Communities, Campo del Sol sits at the foot of the Franklin Mountains with direct access to US-54 and McCombs Street (Fort Bliss-friendly commute). Amenities include a 10-acre park, dog parks, trails, and a lazy river resort-style amenity center. It is the dominant new-construction story in the Northeast submarket.
Primary areas: Northeast (Campo del Sol), various Price range: Mid $200s - $310s
Desert View Homes is another of the four builders in the Campo del Sol master-planned community. Like Classic American and Edwards Homes, Desert View delivers traditionally styled family homes at mid-range price points for the Northeast market.
Primary areas: Northeast (Campo del Sol), various Price range: Mid $200s - $320s Website: edwardshomestx.com
Edwards Homes is a Texas-based builder operating in Campo del Sol. The company focuses on single-family homes for families, with a range of floor plans including single-story and two-story options.
Primary areas: Northeast (Campo del Sol), various Price range: Mid $200s - $340s Website: tropicanahomes.com
Tropicana Homes is a local El Paso builder with a long history in the market. It is one of four builders at Campo del Sol and also operates in other submarkets. As a local builder, Tropicana has deep ties to the El Paso community and is well-known among long-time area buyers.
Primary areas: Horizon City, various Price range: Mid $200s - $330s
Pacifica Homes has multiple active communities in Horizon City. The builder focuses on production homes in the Horizon City/Socorro corridor, competing directly with CareFree and Hakes Brothers in that market.
Primary areas: Various El Paso submarkets Price range: $200s - $400s Website: saratogahomes.com
Saratoga Homes is a Texas-based builder (founded in Houston) with a presence in El Paso. The company operates across multiple Texas metros and offers both production and semi-custom options.
| Builder | Horizon City | Far East | Northeast | West Side | Socorro | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CareFree Homes | ✅ | ✅ | - | - | ✅ | ~$190s |
| Hakes Brothers | ✅ | ✅ | - | ✅ | ✅ | ~$190s |
| BIC Homes | - | ✅ | - | - | - | ~$240s |
| Classic American | - | - | ✅ (Campo) | - | - | ~$250s |
| Desert View | - | - | ✅ (Campo) | - | - | ~$250s |
| Edwards Homes | - | - | ✅ (Campo) | - | - | ~$250s |
| Tropicana Homes | - | ✅ | ✅ (Campo) | - | - | ~$240s |
| Pacifica Homes | ✅ | - | - | - | - | ~$240s |
| Saratoga Homes | ✅ | ✅ | - | - | - | ~$200s |
1. Have your own buyer's agent. The builder's sales rep in the model home works for the builder - not for you. Having your own buyer's agent representation costs you nothing (in many transactions, the builder covers it), and gives you someone whose job is to protect your interests during negotiations, upgrades, and inspection.
2. Negotiate incentives, not just price. Production builders are often reluctant to reduce the base price (it affects comparable sales in their community). Instead, negotiate for closing cost assistance, appliance packages, upgraded flooring, or interest rate buydowns - builders frequently offer these, especially toward the end of a quarter.
3. Get an independent home inspection. New construction is not exempt from defects. Have a licensed third-party inspector review the home at framing, pre-drywall, and final walkthrough stages.
4. Understand the DOM in new construction communities. In Horizon City and the Far East, the average days-on-market of 93 - 117 days reflects the build timeline from contract to completion - not a lack of buyer demand. Many communities have waitlists and phase-by-phase lot releases.
CareFree Homes is widely regarded as El Paso's highest-volume production builder, with active communities in Horizon City, the Far East, Socorro, and other areas. Hakes Brothers has the broadest geographic reach, operating in nearly every new-construction submarket simultaneously.
New construction in El Paso currently starts in the $190s for entry-level production homes from builders like CareFree and Hakes Brothers. Mid-range new construction runs $250,000 - $330,000. Luxury new construction on the West Side runs considerably higher: new-home listings in Cimarron Canyon ranged from $435,950 to $1,524,584 over the twelve months ending July 29, 2026, with none under $400,000.
Generally yes - new construction typically commands a 10 - 20% premium over comparable resale homes, reflecting the cost of new materials, builder warranty, and modern features. However, new construction also comes with lower maintenance costs in early years and modern energy efficiency that can reduce utility costs.
Production builders in El Paso typically deliver a home in 6 - 9 months from contract signing. Custom and semi-custom builds take 12 - 24 months. The permit and approval process in El Paso adds 60 - 120 days in many cases.
You are not required to have one, but it is strongly recommended. The builder's on-site sales agent represents the builder's interests. A buyer's agent represents yours - negotiating upgrades, reviewing contracts, scheduling independent inspections, and flagging issues the builder's team won't volunteer.
Source: Builder information compiled from builder websites, NewHomeSource.com, and direct market research. Pricing and community availability change frequently - verify directly with each builder for current availability and pricing.
John David Peña | License #0733512 | Peña El Paso Realty Group | Brokered by Home Pros Real Estate Group | Broker License #9009766
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Welcome to Living in El Paso, Texas. My name is John Peña, and my name is Alejandro Sosa, and in this episode we're going to be talking about Palo Verde Homes. Palo Verde is one of the builders here in El Paso, and every once in a while it's nice to talk specifically about a particular builder, since Alejandro is our new construction specialist. So we're going to pepper him with questions.
Overall, what are some of the things you like about Palo Verde? Many things, but one of the main things is their style. They have a lot of different styles that appeal to the majority of people, very modern, but also the quality of their homes. You can tell, because we see a lot of new builders coming into El Paso, and you can tell once you walk in that some of them don't feel as nice. We've even had clients say some of these homes feel kind of cheap. They don't say that about Palo Verde, because you can tell in the craftsmanship, everything about it is really good. The customer service is great, every agent gets you information. So overall, everything about them, we just really like them.
A lot of builders in El Paso do modern, contemporary, very boxy, rectangle, flat roofs. That's kind of the norm, especially with a lot of the luxury builders, like Icon and Crown Heritage, who make a lot of really epic modern homes. Palo Verde does do some modern homes, but they also have more of that farmhouse style, more pitched roofs rather than flat roofs, different types of stone on the exterior, different floor plans and elevations. Palo Verde homes are unique. You can typically recognize them.
On customer service: we were just talking about a client we have with another builder whose home was supposed to be done in a week, and we can't even get an update from the builder on what's going on. There are a lot of times where builders maybe build an okay home, but their communication is terrible.
Palo Verde is pretty good. We have the chance to work with almost every builder, and there are some great builders and great reps out there, but honestly, we can't complain at all about Palo Verde. We've talked to many people there, and every time we interact with them, it's quick answers, precise, whatever we need. They're always there if somebody has to meet us at a house to show something. That is very important, because just like a regular resale transaction, if there's no good communication, everything can be pretty unpleasant. It's very hard, especially when we have a client who's ready to close and we're running down an update and calling 20 different people and still can't get one. It's pretty frustrating. So again, one of the things we really like about them is the customer service, from the top to bottom. They're amazing.
That customer service also comes in handy not just when you're trying to buy the home, but once you purchase it, if any warranty issues come up. Some builders, especially after COVID, had a lot of issues with that. They want you to get in the home and everything is great, but the moment you close on that home, they disappear, or at least it's pretty hard to get things done. If there are any issues with the home, any cosmetic things, any leaks, anything, that's one thing we can say about Palo Verde: even after you're done, they're still there. They're very good with any type of claim. If there's anything, they're always there to get it fixed, to do whatever needs to be done. That is very important, because a lot of builders are very pushy about just trying to get you to close on the home, and then after that there's not the great service. So yeah, that's very important.
They do have different elevations and different floor plans. As a ballpark, Palo Verde's price ranges start around $250,000 and go up to about $400,000, so the majority of them are in the low $300s. There are a lot of different floor plans. A lot of builders have floor plans that work for some people and not others, but it seems like Palo Verde's floor plans work for a lot of people: open concept, big rooms for the most part, nice bathrooms, nice kitchens. Those homes can run from about 1,500 square feet up to almost 3,000 square feet, so there's a bunch of different options. It's very popular because of that. Not only the customer service, but the style and the type of floor plans, is very appealing for what feels like the majority of people.
So, $250,000 to $400,000, more or less. What locations are they primarily building in right now? They're mainly on the east side and what we call the northeast. They used to build some on the west side too, but there's not a lot of places left to build there anymore, and they already have some beautiful homes built out there. Most of the new construction right now is in the northeast and the east side.
We're showing a lot of footage here because you and Miguel have gone out and made videos of these homes. Whenever I go into new homes, I kind of feel like there are three levels. There are the low end, low price builders, I'm thinking Saratoga, Casas de Leon, Edwards, maybe Carefree. We need affordable housing in this country, no doubt about it, so kudos to them for building affordable housing. Then you step up the quality ladder and you get into builders like Palo Verde. We could probably include BIC, Cullers, Hakes Brothers, LEH in that tier too, these kind of higher quality builders. Then, once you start going $500,000, $600,000 and above, you're getting into Icon, Crown Heritage, builders like that. I think you're right that Palo Verde is that mid-level, great quality builder. They've got a lot going on.
Anything else you can think of about Palo Verde? Not really. We really like them, and if you have a chance, we can definitely show you some different homes so you can see the difference. Personally, since I got here looking at homes, I've always liked them, not only because of their style, but after working with them quite a bit, and with other builders, great builders too, for the most part Palo Verde is just overall great. Like you said, it's important to have different styles and different price ranges, and I think they do. We'll see you next time.
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