Meta All Microsites Pixel

The Best Custom Home Builders in Nevada

16 Min Read

Last updated on May 27th, 2024 at 01:53 pm

Having two world-class getaway and resort-living locations within its borders makes Nevada a prime spot for luxury custom homes. Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe boast some of the most beautiful and luxurious custom homes in the Southwest, as well as the contractors talented and skilled enough to build them. Of course, most of the new-home building in Nevada is concentrated in the Las Vegas Valley, where upscale developments and sprawling mansions dot the foothills and ridges surrounding Sin City.

This is a list of the contractors in Nevada with the experience and the drive to build the most complex, demanding, and upscale custom homes in the state. The 15 custom home builders on this list are the best that Nevada has to offer — the firms that win awards, build lavish homes for CEOs and sports figures, and push the industry forward with a dedication to green building, sustainable design, and energy efficiency.

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) Canyon Creek  Custom Homes

8908 Azure Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89149

Founded in 1992 by John McDonough, Canyon Creek Custom Homes & Remodeling has developed a reputation in greater Las Vegas as a builder of unique luxury custom homes. McDonough is a graduate of the University of Nevada Las Vegas and has been a resident of the valley for some 40 years. Canyon Creek Custom Homes builds high-end custom homes in some of the Las Vegas Valley’s most sought-after neighborhoods and developments, including Southern Highlands and MacDonald Highlands. They work in such styles as Tuscan, Mission, contemporary, and transitional.

McDonough works with clients from their first ideas through lot selection, planning, and construction and is dedicated to using sustainable building practices. Satisfied clients have praised McDonough and his staff for their communication, integrity, and low-stress work style. Clients have also pointed out that McDonough and his team have superior taste and attention to detail, as well as consummate building skills. Many have returned to the company for new projects and have recommended their work to others.


14) Fox Homes

PO Box 92527, Henderson, NV 89009

Custom home contractor Eric Stafford has some 20 years of experience building custom homes in Nevada. Fox Homes specializes in energy-efficient construction. Highly efficient wall and ceiling insulation, low energy dual pane vinyl windows, pressure balanced valves, radiant barrier roof sheathing, and programmable digital thermostats come standard in the company’s custom homes. Stafford and his team build stunning, high-end luxury homes throughout the Las Vegas Valley, including in the upscale Ridges development.

Many of the firm’s homes feature gorgeous pools and outdoor areas. The custom home builder’s new-builds and remodels also regularly include exquisite stonework, spa-like bathrooms, gourmet kitchens, and inviting indoor-outdoor entertainment spaces. The company also excels at constructing built-in shelving, desks, and closets, as well as designing majestic staircases, fireplaces, and stunning exteriors. Located in Henderson, the company’s skilled and dedicated team of craftsmen works in Summerlin and other sought-after neighborhoods in greater Las Vegas.


13) Unique Custom Homes

10120 W. Flamingo Road, Las Vegas, NV 89147

Jim Ross, CEO of Unique Custom Homes in Las Vegas, has nearly 30 years of experience building in the desert. The Nevada custom home builder has constructed more than 100 homes in the state. Working in styles from contemporary to modern to Mediterranean, the builder’s homes can be found in the region’s upscale and exclusive neighborhoods and developments, such as The Ridges and Spanish Hills. A California native and the son of a NASCAR champion, Ross discovered his love for building while remodeling his own house. That project inspired him to start building luxury custom homes in Las Vegas.

The company has established strong, lasting relationships with some of the area’s best architects, engineers, and subcontractors. They always provide top-notch customer service and pay attention to every detail of the their complex and luxurious projects. Unique Homes provides comprehensive service to their new-home and remodel clients. This includes helping them with floor plans and room layout, as well as flooring, appliance, lighting, cabinet, and color choices.


12) Elegant Homes of Las Vegas

9225 W. Flamingo, Suite 170, Las Vegas, NV 89147

This custom home builder in Nevada was founded by President Ranny McKee more than 25 years ago, and it has since been operating almost entirely on referrals. Elegant Homes builds stunning luxury palaces for the rich and famous in upscale Las Vegas-area communities, such as MacDonald Highlands, The Ridges, and Desert Shores. The home builder has constructed more than 50 sprawling indoor-outdoor masterpieces in Nevada. Starting at $1M and often reaching 20,000 square feet, these homes are some of the most complex and sumptuous in Nevada. The company’s work has been featured in Modern Builder Magazine and the Las Vegas Sun, and on the MTV show Cribbs.

The residential contractor and home remodeling firm has built homes in Las Vegas for entertainment and sports stars, including former UNLV Basketball Coach Lon Kruger, and NFL players Steven Jackson and Brian Kelley. The company’s success is all the more impressive considering that, in 1991, McKee suffered a motocross accident that left him paralyzed at age 25. However, McKee’s determination led him to physical therapy, and he walked again just seven months after the accident.


11) Advance Design & Construction

923 Tahoe Boulevard, Incline Village, NV 89451

A leading green home specialist in Northern Nevada, Advance Design & Construction builds beautiful and efficient custom homes throughout greater Lake Tahoe. Jeff Miller founded the company in 2002. Miller has a degree in engineering and is an National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Certified Green Professional. He is also Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified by the US Green Building Council.  

The custom home builder Nevada won the Best in the Basin Award for Green Building from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency for a 3,748-square-foot, new home in the exclusive Lake Tahoe community of Incline Village, NV. The eco-luxury home is certified LEED Silver and Energy Star certified. It features four en-suite bedrooms, a chef’s kitchen, and beautiful wood floors. Advance Design & Construction is committed to transparency and ethical, reliable business practices. The company has a full-time, in-house building crew.


10) Homecrafters

10591 Double R Boulevard, Reno, NV 89521

Leaders in the Reno, NV, custom home building industry, Homecrafters is a partnership between two brothers from a family of developers, engineers, and architects. Troy and Travis Mean founded the company in 1996 and have since built more than 300 homes in Northern Nevada, including in Somersett, Saddlehorn, and Montreux. The company also works on remodeling projects and additions throughout the region.

Before partnering with his brother more than 20 years ago, Troy Mean worked for several large home builders and earned a degree in business administration and real estate development from the University of Southern California. Travis Mean got his start in the industry working in the San Francisco area on construction projects for high-tech and biotech clients. He has a degree in construction management from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Both brothers have served as president of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada (BANN). That group awarded the company several 2017 BANN-er Awards, including for best floor plan, best landscaping/outdoor living, and best interior design for the Pine Bluff community at Caughlin Ranch — a new collection of high-end modern homes designed by Jerry Gloss & KGA Studios of Boulder, CO.


9) Blaser Construction Inc.

10345 W. Regena Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89149

Founded by Scott Blaser more than 30 years ago, Blaser Construction is a leading custom home builder in greater Las Vegas. The company also does commercial projects and home remodeling in upscale neighborhoods and developments, such as Summerlin, The Ridges, and Anthem. Pulse of the City awarded Blaser Construction a 2018 Excellence in Customer Satisfaction Award. The builder has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

In addition to building beautiful, high-end custom homes throughout the Las Vegas area, Blaser Construction works on office, retail, and other light commercial projects. The company also upgrades and remodels existing homes, from small repairs to complete rebuilds. Blaser helps clients during the design and planning stage of their new build, and they are comfortable working in today’s most popular styles in the region, such as French country, Tuscan, modern, and desert contemporary.


8) Christopher Homes

10161 Park Run Drive, Suite 150, Las Vegas, NV 89145

A residential contractor founded in 1981, Christopher Homes has designed, built, and renovated thousands of townhomes, lofts, and multimillion-dollar luxury estates in greater Las Vegas. The company specializes in high-end luxury homes in areas like Summerlin and Southern Highlands. Led by Founder and CEO J. Christopher Stuhmer, the company’s senior management staff has more than 150 years of combined building experience. Stuhmer is a longtime industry veteran who was inducted into the Builder Magazine Hall of Fame for Design Excellence.

Christopher Homes developed the upscale project Boulder Ridge, a haven for outstanding desert-contemporary architecture near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. For their upscale townhome project VU — in the exclusive MacDonald Highlands — the NAHB gave Christopher Homes a 2018 National Best in American Living Award for Best Architectural for Design of an Attached Community. The Christopher Homes team works on remodel, renovation, and addition projects as well, and they are experts at building wine cellars, home theatres, and pool houses. Their work has been featured in Luxury Las Vegas, High Rise Life, and Vegas Magazine.


7) Sun West Custom Homes

6675 S. Cimarron Road, Suite 100, Las Vegas, NV 89113

Sun West Custom Homes began building luxury residences in Las Vegas in 1989. The Nevada custom home builder is a regular contractor in some of Southern Nevada’s most exclusive and upscale neighborhoods and developments, such as MacDonald Highlands, The Ridges, and Seven Hills. The firm, which offers architectural design, construction, and interior design services, was founded in Florida in 1978 by Cynthia Colettie. The company expanded to Colorado in 1982 and later made a name for itself in the high-end Las Vegas custom home market.

Cynthia’s son, Daniel Coletti, started out as superintendent and designer with the company and is now owner, president, and principal. President of Construction Carl Martinez has been with Sun West Custom Homes since 1984. A member of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association (SNHBA), Sun West has built more than 150 homes in the Las Vegas Valley. The company also has a knowledgeable luxury realty section that helps Sun West clients find the perfect Las Vegas-area lot on which to build their home.


6) Realm Constructors

405 Marsh Ave. #309, Reno, NV 89509

Realm Constructors is one of the leading custom home builders in Northern Nevada, constructing gorgeous luxury homes in the Reno/Tahoe area and elsewhere. All four members of the company’s leadership team are natives of the area and have decades of experience building high-end lakeside dream homes. The firm’s president, Kurt Stitser, is LEED Accredited and has built projects rated LEED Gold and LEED Silver.

Stitser is a fifth-generation Nevadan who grew up in the construction and development industries. He graduated from Colorado State University with a bachelor’s degree in construction management. He worked for several years in commercial construction in Denver before becoming a custom home builder in Nevada. A member of the Builders Association of Northern Nevada (BANN), Realm Contractors won the group’s 2016 Award for Best New Custom Home $1M to $1.5M for “Painted River Trail Home.” The company was also named the 2016 BANN Custom Home Builder of the Year. In 2017 Realm Constructors won the BANN Award for Best New Home Product Over $1M for the “McCann Residence” and was also honored with the Best of Show Award.


5) Chateau Development

4955 South Durango, Suite 218, Las Vegas, NV 89113

Chateau Development is a boutique custom home builder known for its work with  Drew and Jonathan Scott, the Property Brothers of HGTV fame. The new-home builder and remodeling contractor even took on a major remodel of the Scotts’ Las Vegas home for the show Property Brothers at Home. Currently, Chateau is working with the brothers on “Dream Homes By Scott Living,” a series of one-of-a-kind luxury homes in some of the area’s top neighborhoods.

As is clear by its long relationship with such high-profile partners, Chateau Development has a stellar reputation in Nevada for its craftsmanship, customer service, and project-management skills. Founded by Robert Bero more than 25 years ago, Chateau designs and builds lavish homes in the upscale, gated, and guarded developments around the Las Vegas Valley. The construction company is a preferred builder at Ascaya and MacDonald Highlands and also works in Canyon Fairways, Tournament Hills, The Summit, and The Ridges. The company’s work has been featured in Luxury Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.


4) Adapture

817 S. Main Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101

Adapture is an architecture, construction, and interior design firm that builds sleek contemporary desert homes in Las Vegas and the environs. The company was founded by lauded architect Jason Stodl in 2008. A member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Strodl was featured as a rising designer in a 2016 issue of Architecture Las Vegas and was selected by Las Vegas Magazine as a “new architect to watch” in 2011. For many years he was an adjunct professor with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Architecture. Strodl has a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Arizona and a master’s in architecture and Urban Design from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Adapture has a construction team with more than 30 years of experience building custom homes. The firm’s homes feature interiors by Amy Strodl, a certified and highly experienced interior designer. The firm won an International Property Award in 2017 for “The Pavilion,” an indoor-outdoor living space in Las Vegas. The elegant, 1,123-square-foot project was designed to capture prevailing breezes. It features cantilevered roofs for shade, plenty of water features, and retractable doors. The space is meant to be cool and livable even in the triple-digit Vegas heat, which has most residents hiding out in air-conditioned rooms for three or four months out of the year.


3) R.W. Bugbee & Associates Inc.

 8635 W. Sahara Avenue #550, Las Vegas, NV 89117

Nevada custom home builders R.W. Bugbee & Associates partner with top architects to construct innovative and modern homes throughout Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The family-owned company builds homes for local luminaries, casino owners, CEOs, and other prime movers in Sin City. They have worked with Texas’s Lake/Flato and Los Angeles architect Michael Palladino of Richard Meier & Partners — designer of the the iconic Getty Center.

The Bugbee family has been building homes in the Las Vegas area since 1957. Robert W. “Bugs” Bugbee founded R.W. Bugbee & Associates with son Scott Bugbee in 1977. Today the firm is led by Scott and his son, Nick Bugbee. The company recently worked with Hoogland Architecture on two wonderful modern homes in the small desert community of Blue Diamond, near Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Both homes won a 2017 Excellence in Design Award from AIA Nevada. The firm’s work has been featured in Architecture Las Vegas and the Las Vegas Review-Journal.


2) Merlin Contracting and Developing

6408 Arville Street, Las Vegas, NV 89118

Merlin Contracting founder and CEO Steve Jones won the 2017 National Association of Home Builder (NAHB) Custom Home Builder of the Year Award. Over the last six years, the company has completed two custom homes per year that range from $1.8M to $10.2M, as well as an average of six custom remodels and three high-rise unit renovations per year. Specializing in high-end, luxury homes between $1M and $25M, Merlin Contracting works primarily through referrals from clients, architects, and realtors.

The company has an unlimited full-B category general contractors license, one of only a few in Southern Nevada. The license allows them to build sprawling, luxurious estates of any size and cost. The home builder’s work has been featured or written about in 70 magazines and 300 newspaper articles, including Architectural Digest, Builder Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. Jones, a graduate of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, grew up in Las Vegas and worked for a custom home builder for many years before starting Merlin Contracting in 1989.


1) Blue Heron Design-Build

1320 Villa Barolo Avenue, Henderson, NV 89052

Founded in 2004 by Steve Jones and Tyler Jones, Blue Heron is a design/build firm specializing in custom homes and boutique communities in Southern Nevada. It is the Las Vegas leader in implementing energy efficient technology and ultimate green building methods in all its homes. Years of innovative experimentation with desert contemporary design concepts have resulted in the unmistakably unique Vegas Modern™ signature style now known synonymous with Blue Heron homes.

Topping off this firm’s list of achievements is being chosen three times to serve as architect, designer, and builder for the New American Home — the first contractor chosen more than once and are built throughout the master plans in Las Vegas. The firm’s projects are widely acknowledged in the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Builder Magazine, Luxe,  Las Vegas Review Journal and Luxury Las Vegas. Blue Heron’s awards include several Gold Nugget Grand for Best Custom Home and the Dream Home Gold for Green Home Project of the Year and has achieved the “Platinum” LEED certification by the U.S. Green Building Council and the “Emerald” certification by the National Green Building Standard.


How can I find a home builder near me?

Read our latest articles on the best custom home builders across Nevada. If you don’t see your city below, just let us know – we are happy to create a tailored recommendation list just for you.

Custom home builders in Las Vegas

Custom home builders in Henderson

Custom home builders in North Las Vegas

Custom home builders in Reno


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


Get Bids For Your Build

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.


Author