The Best Custom Home Builders in Iowa

With its beautiful, rural Midwestern scenery and a big bang for your buck, the Hawkeye State is a smart place to build a luxury custom home. Iowa has been ranked third in the nation for affordability by the U.S. News & World Report in a survey comparing median housing prices against median family incomes in the state. The magazine also ranked Des Moines, the state’s largest city, as the ninth best place to live in the US. Many of the large luxury estates in Iowa are found in the upscale suburbs of Des Moines, such as Asbury, Waukee, and Bondurant, and around Iowa City and North Liberty.

This is a list of the residential contractors in Iowa that build those sprawling, high-end homes. These 15 contracting companies build and remodel the largest, most expensive, and most architecturally distinct homes in Iowa. Most of these firms, which represent the best custom home builders in Iowa, have been in business for several decades and are operated second- and third-generation home builders.

If you are thinking about building a custom home, we recommend checking each builder’s license with the local licensing board, speaking to past clients, and using our bidding system to get competitive quotes from at least 3 contractors. Getting multiple bids is the best way to ensure you get a fair price and that bids include the complete scope of work.

15) Mond Group

4800 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 205, West Des Moines, IA 50265

This custom home builder in Iowa brings a South American sensibility and a sleek, modern aesthetic to the Midwestern residential scene. Peter Mond, owner and principal architect of the Mond Group in West Des Moines, IA, is a talented modern home designer and builder from Argentina. Mond has a master’s degree in architecture from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina and is a member of the Home Builders Association of De Moines (HBA). He has been designing and building for more than 30 years.

Mond works in several styles, including modern, contemporary, transitional, and traditional, and he builds homes in West De Moines, Des Moines, Clive, and elsewhere. The firm also builds urban lofts, major remodeling projects, and light commercial jobs. One of the firm’s best recent new builds is the stunning contemporary-modern Sheridan Home in West Des Moines. The wonderful home features an eye-catching design, including a front tower with three big windows and elegant, slanting roofs. Inside, the home features wood, metal, glass, and stone, with plenty of natural light flooding into the wide-open space.

14) Stebral Construction

4417 Turkey Creek Road NE, Iowa City, IA 52240

This Iowa custom home builder constructs beautiful, lasting homes throughout greater Iowa City. Stebral Construction has been building and remodeling homes in the Iowa City area for more than 40 years, including in North Liberty and Solon. Now owned and operated by brothers John Stebral and Terry Stebral, the firm was founded by their father, John Stebral, in 1972. The brothers, who are Iowa City natives, grew up learning the construction trades from their father. They offer a full range of home design, interior design, and construction services.

The firm specializes in distinctive, high-end homes, but also takes on remodeling projects, from kitchen and bathroom renovations to whole-home remodels and additions. The company is particularly skilled at building custom shops and “man caves,” including large buildings for sports, garages, and carpentry shops. The custom home builder in Iowa also offers top-notch customer service and works with a team of the best, most highly skilled tradesmen and subcontractors in the region.

13) Brother Company Builders Group

8564 Alice Avenue, Clive, IA 50325

Ermin and Semir Fetic founded Brothers Company in 2012 and have more than 50 years of combined experience in the construction industry. They build homes throughout greater Des Moines, including in Ankeny, Clive, Grimes, Waukee, and West Des Moines. Their homes start at $325k and up. They often include custom cabinets and trim, hardwood floors, granite countertops, stone fireplaces, and heated floors in the bathroom. The firm provides a full range of home building services, including help with site selection, design, construction, and high-quality finishes.

Brother Company Builders Group specializes in sprawling custom ranch houses, and their homes have been featured in the Greater Des Moines HBA Home Show Expo. One of their Home Show Expo ranch homes from 2016, a gorgeous residence in Urbandale, IA, is typical of the high-end homes the company builds. The 4,000-square-foot executive ranch features four bedrooms, three bathrooms, two fireplaces, a main level office, a gourmet kitchen with commercial-style appliances, a finished lower level with a wet bar, and a distinctive angled staircase. The property also has an oversized covered deck and a huge paver patio with a fire pit.

12) Integrity Construction

623 E. Lincoln Way, Ames, IA 50010

Iowa construction industry veteran Brad Heemstra started Integrity Construction in 2007. A graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in construction engineering, Heemstra worked in commercial construction for 24 years before starting his own firm. Integrity Construction works on major commercial builds throughout Iowa and also builds homes ranging from starter residences to million-dollar mansions.

Over the past decade the company built a 17-plex apartment complex near Iowa State University, a 100-bed nursing facility, a 30,000-square-foot addition to a church, and many high-end homes. They have also completed residential remodeling projects, including kitchen and bathroom makeovers, basement finishes, and additions.

The firm works in Ames, Cambridge, Gilbert, Huxley, Kelley, and throughout the region. A member of the Ames Home Builders Association (AHBA), the firm’s homes have been featured many times in the ABHA Parade of Homes. Heemstra, a licensed engineer with state of Iowa, was named the 2016 Business Person of the Year by the Ames Chamber of Commerce, and he is a member of the Master Builders of Iowa (MBI).

11) Kimberley Development Corporation

2785 N Ankeny Boulevard, Suite 22, Ankeny, IA 50023

This residential contractor has been building homes in central Iowa for 40 years. Bill Kimberley, president of Kimberley Development Corporation, started his company in 1978 and is now one of the top builders of finely crafted new homes in greater Des Moines. The firm specializes in a wide range of styles including Traditional, Transitional, Modern and Contemporary Homes in attractive communities and develops throughout the De Moines suburbs. These include Ankeny, Elkhart, Johnston, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee and West Des Moines. They also have a development in Granger.

The company’s homes typically start at around $400,000 and go up well over $1 Million, and they range in size from about rom 2,600 square feet to over 6,000 square feet. The company has 11 times been voted the Best Home Builder by readers of the Ankeny Register & Press Citizen in Ankeny, IA. The firm has four times received the Favorite Home Award during the Home Show Expo sponsored by the HBA of Greater Des Moines, which also gave Kimberley Development a Builder of the Year Award in 2010. They were also named Builder of the Year in 1988 and also 2010

10) H&H Home Builders

3752 Cardinal Court NE, North Liberty, IA 52317

This custom home builder in Iowa has been constructing long-lasting, energy-efficient residences since 1995 along the Cedar Rapids|Iowa City Corridor in eastern Iowa. The corridor includes Linn, Benton, Cedar, Jones, Johnson, and Washington counties. Led by Owner Randy Hahn, H&H Home Builders was the first National Home Builder Association (NAHB) Certified Green Professional in the area. The residential contractor builds miscale to upscale homes that are Energy Star compliant and made using recycled and renewable materials.

The company’s work has been featured in Better Homes and Gardens and Room Magazine. The firm has participated in many Parade of Homes showcase events sponsored by the Greater Iowa City Home Builders Association (HBA), and Hahn served as on the board of directors of the Home Builders Association of Iowa (HBAI). H&H Home Builders won the Builders Excellence Award at the 2017 Iowa City Parade of Homes for best home in the $401k to $451k range.

9) Bella Homes

506 E 1st Street Huxley, IA 50124

Custom home contractors Bella Homes builds houses in a range of prices and styles throughout the De Moines area, including in Ames, Huxley, Grimes, Slater, and Cambridge. The firm also has an office that serves the Cedar Rapids area. The company was founded by longtime industry veteran Chris Gardner, a third-generation builder who started working in the industry while completing a finance degree at Central College in Pella, IA. After college, Gardner worked for a Huxley-based residential contractor and for a large Midwestern builder before starting Bella Homes with his wife, realtor Kris Gardner. Partner Mark De Young joined the company in 2012. He has a degree in business management from Iowa State University and many years of experience in the construction industry.

The firm offers home design, construction, and interior design services, including high-quality custom woodworking and other stylish accents and details in their upscale homes. Their Colonial, Craftsman, transitional, and contemporary homes can be found in such communities and developments as Estates at Prairie Hill, Bella Vista, and The Irons at Ames Golf and Country Club. Bella Homes is a member of the NAHB, the Ames Home Builders Association (AHBA), and the De Moines Home Builders Association (HBA). It is an Energy Star partner.

8) Sundance Homes

206 4th Street, West Des Moines, IA 50265

This Iowa custom home builder constructs one-of-a-kind, eye-catching luxury residences throughout greater Des Moines and Ames. Sundance Homes was founded in 2008 by husband-and-wife residential construction team Kevin and Nicole McGlothlin. The company works with some of the best vendors and subcontractors in the De Moines metro area and is committed to a customer service model that takes the stress out of the home building experience.

Kevin McGlothlin has more than 30 years of experience in the construction industry. He started out as a teenager working in concrete and framing. Nicole McGlothlin is a realtor with more than 10 years of experience working in the field. Sundance Homes builds unique contemporary homes with elements of modern and Craftsman styles. The firm’s properties include gorgeous, distinctive exteriors with custom stonework and millwork, and luxurious interiors lined with custom woodwork and flooded with natural light. The company is a member of the HBA of Greater Des Moines and has won several awards from the group’s annual Home Show Expo, including nods for best Master Suite, Craftsmanship, and Children’s|Guest Room.

7) Tyler Homes

PO Box 413, Altoona, IA 50009

Jim Harmeyer has spent his life in the residential construction industry. He founded Tyler Homes in Altoona, IA, in the mid-1990s, and has since built midscale to upscale homes throughout greater Des Moines. The company’s homes are regularly featured in the annual Home Show Expo sponsored by the Greater Des Moines HBA. The firm builds residences in Brent Creek Estates in Urbandale, Prairie Trail in Ankeny, The Ridge at Echo Valley in Norwalk, and elsewhere.

In the latter development, the firm has built several notable homes, including an Urban Farmhouse and a modern Prairie home, both of which were featured in a recent Home Show Expo. The farmhouse features knotty alder trim, hardwood floors, sliding barn doors, a galley-style kitchen with a walk-in pantry, and a vaulted great room with a two-story fireplace. The modern Prairie home features a central great room with a 12-foot beamed ceiling and a study with sliding barn doors. The kitchen includes commercial-grade appliances and a hidden walk-in pantry. The home’s lower level has a sunken family room with bar, a game room, and a dog room with its own entrance.

6) Arko’s Custom Homes

4732 154th Street, Urbandale, IA 50323

Armin Avdic, founder and owner of Arko’s Custom Homes, started working in construction at the age of 16. He learned the building craft from his father while growing up in Bosnia, and he went on to work in the industry in Russia and Germany before settling in the United States. The company builds distinctive, finely crafted, midscale to upscale homes throughout greater Des Moines. Its homes can be found in developments such as Silkwood Crossing and Urban Hills in Urbandale, and Daybreak and Fox Creek Estates in Waukee.

The firm builds homes ranging from $300k to more than $1M in a variety of styles, including ranch, contemporary, and Tuscan. They often feature European-inspired details, such as traditional stucco exteriors and venetian plaster walls. A 3,201-square-foot, ranch-style home built by the company in the upscale Urban Hills development includes five bedrooms, four bathrooms, and high-quality materials — and goes for about $450k. The home is a good example of the firm’s elegant and eye-catching exteriors, with its touches of custom millwork and stylish stone, as well as artful touches like the series of small windows on the garage doors. No wonder the company won a first place award for Curb Appeal during the 2016 Home Show Expo in Des Moines.

5) Rocca Custom Homes

930 238th Street NE, North Liberty, IA, 52317

Founded in 1995 by Kevin and Kimberlee Rocca, this Iowa custom home building team combines the skills of an engineer and an artist to create elegant and efficient deluxe residences in the Iowa City area and surrounding communities. From concept drawings to planning and design through estimating and completed construction you work directly with the Roccas for the Ultimate Design-Build experience.

Kevin Rocca is an NAHB Certified Green Professional and NAHB Certified GraduateBuilder. He has a degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University ofIowa. His background in the construction industry includes working on foundations, framing, roofing, mechanicals, carpentry, and intelligent home design. He has won several Builder of Excellence Awards from the HBAI and served on the group’s board of directors. Kimberlee Rocca, also a University of Iowa graduate, is a renowned metal artist who has received public, corporate, and private commissions. Her eye for design and project management skills ease the burden of building for homeowners making the overall process exciting and enjoyable.

Together they build high-end homes with unique mixture of modern, Craftsman, coastal, farmhouse, Colorado mountain, traditional, and urban elements in Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, and throughout the region. Specializing in unique one of a kind new homes and remodels, Creating Dreams from Visions.

4) Accurate Development

9500 University Avenue, Suite 2112, West Des Moines, IA 50266

This custom home builder creates upmarket residences in exclusive communities that it develops throughout greater Des Moines. Founded by President Kevin J. Johnson in 1991, Accurate Development has been named one of America’s Top Builders by Builder Magazine. Johnson recently told Build Des Moines — a digital publication covering the central Iowa home building industry — that the firm’s niche has evolved into building executive custom homes and communities that create “a lifestyle and not just a development.” The residential contractor works in Acadia and Brent Creek Ridge in Urbandale, Country Cove Park in Altoona, and Eagle Vista in Adel.

With nearly 30 years of home building experience in the De Moines metro area, Accurate Development has gathered a highly skilled team of subcontractors, many of whom have worked with the firm for years. The company also has a staff of in-house construction managers and designers. Accurate Development is an NAHB Certified Green Professional. They are committed to responsible land development, using recycled and responsibly harvested materials, and recycling construction waste, among other green-building practices.

3) Dallenbach Larson

5721 Merle Hay Road, Johnston, IA 50131

Owned and operated by custom home builders Steve Dallenbach and John Larson, this residential construction company builds large, top-line residences throughout greater Des Moines. The homes range in price from about $500k to more than $1M, and Dallenbach Larson offers site selection, design, and construction services. The company also has interior designers, kitchen and bath planners, flooring consultants, architects, and lighting designers available for every aspect of the home building process. They are an Energy Star partner and practice environmentally responsible and resource-efficient design and construction. Dallenbach Larson also takes on remodeling projects, including whole-home renovations and additions, such as home gyms and entertainment areas.

The firm builds homes in variety of styles, from classic and European to modern and contemporary. One of the firm’s best projects is a stunning contemporary masterpiece showing International style influences. Designed by Ankeny architect Karl Chambers of Imprint Architects, the sleek, 6,700-square-foot home has an arresting glass tower encasing its custom metal staircase, and lots of mahogany, stone, glass, tile, chrome, and stainless steel throughout. It features a wine room, a home theater, and a game room. It also has a saltwater swimming pool in an wonderful outdoor living space with a weatherproof kitchen.

2) Homes by DePhillips

West Des Moines, IA 50265

This high-end custom home builder in Iowa has built more than 500 executive homes in the Des Moines metropolitan area. Michael J. DePhillips founded Homes by DePhillips in 1973. Together with his son, Kevin DePhillips, he builds luxury homes in top residential communities and developments in Ankeny, Beaverdale, Clive, Waukee, West Des Moines, and Windsor Heights. The firm specializes in unique and personal homes and almost never builds the same house twice. They have long-term relationships with some of the region’s most qualified and professionally trained craftsmen, and they also do remodeling projects from kitchen and bath renovations to whole-home remodels and additions.

The firm builds transitional and contemporary homes that go for more than $1M and feature luxurious details and top-end materials. A beautiful new example of their work is on sale in Waukee’s Fox Landing development for $1.3M. The home features an open family room, white oak beams and accents, a wet bar, a wine cellar, an inviting covered deck, and a four-car garage.

1) Mainbuilt

9351 Swanson Boulevard, Clive, IA 50325

This boutique home builder in Iowa goes back to 1957, when it was founded by William R. Main. Mark Main, a second-generation home builder, grew up learning the craft and business from his father. Mainbuilt builds some of the most beautiful, innovative, and architecturally significant homes in the state. He works with the Midwest’s best architects to construct elegant, one-of-a-kind homes throughout the greater Des Moines area, in modern, contemporary, and Prairie styles.

Mainbuilt’s homes start at around $1M and range up to more than $5M. The firm also takes on remodelling projects, including kitchen and bathroom updates and whole-home renovations. Main is a co-owner of Minnesota Cabinets, a custom kitchen and bath design firm located in Clive, IA, where he has an in-house staff of highly experienced home designers, interior designers, kitchen and bath designers, building contractors, and laborers.

The company is a member of the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). The American Institute of Architects in Iowa (AIA) and the AIA Central States chapter gave out 2017 Awards for Excellence in Architecture and Excellence in Design to the Ravine Residence, a gorgeous modern-style home tucked behind a curtain of trees. Mainbuilt constructed the home, which is certainly one of the most beautiful structures in Iowa, with BNIM Architects.

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Custom home builder in Des Moines

About Our Rankings

This list takes a range of ranking criteria into consideration, including but not limited to: work history, customer satisfaction, awards and recognition, geographic area of work, cost, building permits, and clientele. We spent over 40 hours researching local contractors before calculating the final ranking for this post. If there is additional information about your business that could affect these rankings, please fill out this form and we will take it into consideration.