Meta All Microsites Pixel

The Best Custom Home Builders in Scottsdale

19 Min Read

Last updated on May 27th, 2024 at 01:42 pm

Scottsdale’s thriving economy is driving its housing market, and that market is a competitive yet welcoming place for new residents. According to Zillow, the median price of homes in the city amounts to more than $400,000, and it’s expected to continue to rise in the coming decade. Arizona is beautiful, Scottsdale is hoping, and a lot of people are showing an interest in relocating.

Most luxury houses in Scottsdale are contemporary, Mediterranean and Spanish designed homes, a result of a confluence of factors that include local weather patterns, contemporary trends in home building, and a populace that leans towards traditional aesthetics. Building custom homes, whether modern or conventional, requires a great deal of expertise and creativity. You need a builder that can integrate innovative home building technologies with a client’s vision, and the combination of creative and intellectual energy required is not easy to find.

We looked at hundreds of custom home builders in Scottsdale and sorted through them looking primarily for builders who had earned the trust of locals. We also considered the press attention the builders’ projects had received, and the awards they had won, and, of course, took a close look at portfolios. We’re confident that this list of 15 builders we’ve carefully assembled will ease your way into the custom home building market of Scottsdale.

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. On the other hand, if you want to learn more about the cost of building a custom home in Scottsdale, check out our cost guide article.


14) Nance Custom Builders

6950 E 1st St., Scottsdale, AZ 85251

Since its inception in 1978, Nance Custom Builders has created and continues to develop a signature process for custom home building. The firm calls it the ‘Nance Way,’ and timeliness and transparency are the guiding priorities. This approach has generated numerous repeat clients, clients that have trusted the firm since it started. The firm has grown organically on its carefully guarded local reputation.

Nance Custom Builders’ outstanding projects have been recognized and featured in different publications, such as House Beautiful, Luxe Magazine, Beautiful Homes, Phoenix Home & Garden, and Western Interiors and Design. These publications repeatedly recognized the firm’s home building expertise.

Nance Custom builds across a wide spectrum of design: they’ve completed farmhouse, colonial, Santa Barbara, French Provincial, European Country, and rural Mediterranean homes. Spacious sunrooms, intricate crown moldings, grand staircases, outdoor living spaces, and elegant bathrooms are just some of the best features in the Nance Custom Homes portfolio.


13) Schultz Development

7890 E McClain Dr., Suite 1, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Jason Schultz’s educational background in architecture and his field experience have served as a strong foundation for his firm. Through hard work, and an emphasis on maintaining excellent customer relationships, the business has thrived, earning numerous referrals, and retaining repeat clients.

Schultz Development’s outstanding projects have not gone unnoticed by the press. Several publications that celebrate and feature great custom home building and remodeling works have featured the firm, including Southwest Style, The Resource, Phoenix Home & Garden, Essential Southwest Architecture, Luxe Magazine, Sources & Design, AZ Society, and Desert Paradise.

Since 1988, Schultz Development has been building contemporary, Santa Barbara, Spanish, and Spanish colonial houses throughout Greater Phoenix, Scottsdale, East Valley, and Paradise Valley. Large estates with outdoor living spaces, specialty rooms, backyard swimming pools, lounges, and elegant landscaping are just some of the features that Schultz Development brings to its clients.


12) Fratantoni Luxury Estates

9811 E. Bell Rd., Suite 105, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Mansions and large estates are the signatures of Fratantoni Luxury Estates. Building grand mansions, luxury homes, and properties scaling up to thousands of square feet is just a common work day for the firm. And from design to construction to completion, Fratantoni Luxury Estates handles everything.

Spouses Sam and Josie Fratantoni founded the firm more than 30 years ago. Their collective experience in home designing and building gave them the edge to produce high-quality custom homes for the residents of Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Chandler. Josie is an award-winning interior designer who developed her skills through her work abroad. Her exposure to different cultures has led her to bring exotic influences home to Arizona.

Fratantoni Luxury Estates continues to grow in its capacity to serve its clients. Its massive projects have been featured in different publications such as Luxury Home Magazine, Hearth and Home Magazine, and Arizona Foothills Magazine. The firm was also named Builder of the Year in 2014 for its outstanding home building projects.

The firm’s portfolio consists of highly diverse designs that include a modern farmhouse, French country, Spanish, Mediterranean, and Spanish colonial. Intricate ceiling beams, Victorian-inspired interiors, and open concept kitchens are some of the people’s favorites from the Fratantoni Luxury Estates portfolio of projects.


11) JP Malone Custom Homes

8261 E Evans Rd., Suite 104, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

JP Malone Custom Homes has been building since 1983, and their impressive portfolio includes contemporary homes, Spanish mansions, and even cabins. From modern home layouts to stone-walled fireplaces, to wooden ceiling beams, JP Malone Custom Homes can design and execute flawlessly. Phoenix Magazine, Custom Homes, Custom Home Outdoors, Phoenix Home & Garden, Kitchen & Bath Business Magazine, Custom Builder, and Builder Magazine have all taken notice of the firm’s elegant projects.

And JP Malone Custom Homes has also received numerous awards including a Best in American Living Award (BALA), the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) America’s Best Builder Award, the Sub-Zero Design Award, and the Great American Kitchen Design Merit. These awards are solid proof of the firm’s expertise in custom home building.

Kevin and Deborah Malone founded the firm, and their interior design services have garnered a sizable following in Fountain Hills, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia, and Carefree.


10) Bedbrock Developers

5203 E Lincoln Dr., Paradise Valley, AZ 85253

Bedbrock Developers gives its clients ample room for creativity as they can specifically choose which modern cabinets, window styles, closet systems, flooring, and countertops to use and build into their houses. The firm’s PV Design Center gives the client’s as much creative freedom as possible to customize their houses.

The firm can design and execute a spectrum of styles, including Italian, Santa Barbara, Spanish, and contemporary homes, but the common denominator is elegance. Large glass windows, gabled roofs, outdoor fire pits, as well as flat roofs for contemporary homes all bring striking beauty to these homes.

And local clients are not the only ones who are impressed. Publications such as Phoenix Home & Garden, Luxe Magazine, So Scottsdale!, Paradise Valley, Phoenix Business Journal, Classified Real Estate, and Arizona Foothills have featured the firm’s custom home building projects. Bedbrock Developers also won the Best of Our Valley Best Custom Home Builder awards and NAHB’s The Nationals Award for its exceptional work.

Rich Brock, the firm’s founder, used his engineering degree, marketing background, and his extensive experience launching two companies. to establish his own custom home building firm in 2002, one that can rival and compete with the best.


9) The Phil Nichols Company

15455 N Greenway Hayden Loop, Suite C-1, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

In its more than two decades of service to Scottsdale, Phoenix, and Paradise Valley, The Phil Nichols Company has built and created more than 650 Arizona residences. Phil Nichols founded his firm in 1995 and used his over 30 years of experience in the construction industry to assemble and guide one of the best custom home building teams in Scottsdale. He specializes in creating and building luxury homes and residential properties.

The Phil Nichols Company has received multiple awards from BALA and NAHB for Best Custom Home category. The firm also received the Gold Nugget Best Custom Home Award twice, and the Marketing and Merchandising Excellence (MAME) XXXIII Best Custom Home award. In addition to its awards, the firm is also affiliated with prestigious home building organizations such as NAHB and Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA).

The firm’s custom homes are mostly contemporary, Spanish colonial, and Santa Barbara-style residences. There are also craftsman homes that feature luxurious interiors paired with wooden ceiling beams and intricate fireplace masonry. The aesthetic level of these homes—from structure to interior design to accessories—is high.


8) Luster Custom Homes

18801 N Thompson Peak Pkwy., Suite 240, Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Luster Custom Homes was founded in 2007 and has received a ton of awards in the past dozen years. In that short time, the firm has received multiple Custom Home Builder of the Year awards from NAHB and HBACA. It was also included on the Luxe Magazine Gold list and became the first and only Gold Certified Custom Home for the State of Arizona.

As Luster Custom Homes continue to grow, it has also became affiliated with different home builder organizations, including NAHB, HBACA, and the National Builder 20 Club. The firm’s success has been built on Tanner Luster’s extensive experience in custom home building. Prior to establishing Luster Custom Homes, Tanner had extensive experience in custom home building; he once headed the custom homes division of a prominent construction firm in Newport Beach, California for eight years.

Most of the firm’s projects are the formal Mediterranean, contemporary, and Spanish revival. The Spanish revival houses feature grand outdoor living spaces, elegant terracotta roofs with matching gutters, and stone arches, while contemporary homes have large glass windows and industrial-inspired porches.


7) CSE & Associates, Inc.

20645 N Pima Rd., #195 Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Scott Edmunds’s experience and expertise came out of real estate and project management. He helped his previous company to grow from 50 home sales a year to more than 200 in just a decade. With an established reputation, Scott decided to start his own custom home construction firm, the CSE & Associates, Inc. in 1996.

When the firm took off, CSE’s projects were featured in Luxe Magazine, Builder Magazine, Professional Builder, and Smart & Stylish magazine. The firm also won multiple Gold Nugget Awards and took home recognition from NAHB Nationals and Regionals, as well as a Builder’s Choice Award. The firm has also been recognized by the Arizona MAME Awards, and the BALA.

CSE & Associates has put together an impressive portfolio of Spanish and contemporary homes throughout Scottsdale. Modern home layouts with Spanish interior accents, terracotta roofs, and quaint outdoor living spaces create a modern residence that retains a cozy, comfortable ambiance. These homes slip onto you like your favorite cashmere sweater: comfortable, but still stylish, sexy, and striking.


6) Salcito Custom Homes

20909 N 90th Place, Suite 202, Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Salcito’s luxury properties rest on hills, desert floors, and at the base of the mountains. For more than 40 years, Salcito Custom Homes has been defined by consistency in service, attention to detail, timely project delivery, and a consistent demand for their product and services. Their homes are distinctly built with the highest quality building products and are unmistakable in their fit, finish, and timelessness. With more than 300 projects delivered valley wide, 120 within the past decade, Salcito Custom Home’s portfolio is diverse and encompasses custom homes, renovations, additions, commercial buildings and tenant improvements.

The firm’s luxury homes have caught the attention of the publications that cater to Scottsdale’s most affluent tastes, including Phoenix Home & Garden, Southwest Style, Luxe Magazine, Phoenix Business Journal, Arizona Foothills, North Scottsdale Plus, Modern Luxury Magazine, PHX Architecture, and many others. The firm also won the Phoenix Business Journal Custom Home Builder of the Year Award and the Arizona Foothills Best Custom Home Builder Award. All of that recognition underlined the firm’s solid word-of-mouth reputation as one of the best custom home builders in the area.

The substantial portfolio of Salcito Custom Homes consists of formal and rural Mediterranean homes, contemporary, Spanish colonial, Southwestern contemporary and rustic ranch mansions. Luxury estates, with massive outdoor living spaces, paired with outdoor lounges and pools, complete with elegant garden landscaping, are all common sights on the firm’s projects.


5) Argue Custom Homes

18801 N Thompson Peak Pkwy., Suite 380 Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Tom Argue founded his firm, Argue Custom Homes, more than 20 years ago. Since then the firm has been specializing in building custom luxury homes. In just two decades, the firm has built more than a hundred luxury homes that range from a modest 3,000 square feet up to a whopping 100,000.

Argue’s projects are not easily overlooked. Magazines Phoenix Home & Garden, Luxe Magazine, Ranking Arizona, Epic Places, DuPont Registry, and Arizona Foothills have all featured the firm’s world-class mansions. The firm has also received multiple Best of Our Valley Best Luxury Home Builder awards and the Best Custom Home Builder award, and Ranking Arizona’s Custom Home Builder award.

Mediterranean houses, farmhouse mansions, Spanish villas, and French Country estates are just some of the common home styles that Argue Custom Homes builds. Color-coordinated kitchens, patios, specialty rooms, and aesthetic interiors are common sights in Argue’s impressive portfolio.


4) Cullum Homes

14746 N 78th Way, Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Rod Cullum, a second-generation builder, established Cullum Homes in Scottsdale more than 30 years ago. The firm is known to be one of the oldest, most reputable luxury home builders in Arizona. As Cullum Homes’s popularity grew, it became more involved in community development, charities, and foundations which helped raise the fortunes of the community’s less fortunate residents through quality homebuilding.

Publications that highlight high-quality houses have been drawn to the works of Cullum Homes. AZ Central, Home Builder Digest, AZ Big Media, Independent, Arizona Foothills, San Francisco Business Times, and Phoenix Business Journal are just a few of the publications and magazines that have featured the firm on their pages. Furthermore, Cullum Homes is affiliated with different organizations such as HBACA, NAHB, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Energy and Environment Building Alliance, and Arizona Small Business Association.

Cullum Homes works mostly on contemporary homes with massive outdoor living spaces. Outdoor fire pits, decorative masonry, and large glass windows that don’t compromise the homeowner’s privacy are just some of their signature features.


3) Fisher Custom Homes

7410 E Pinnacle Peak Rd., Suite 116, Scottsdale, AZ 85255

Fisher Custom Homes has made a name for itself after building more than a thousand homes throughout Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Phoenix, and Fountain Hills. The firm has been servicing the cities since its conception in 1978, and local residents continue to trust Fisher Custom Homes to turn their visions into reality. But isn’t just locals. National and state publications, including The New York Times, Better Homes & Garden, Luxury Home, The Arizona Republic, and Builder Magazine have all featured the firm’s home building projects. The firm has also captured multiple Gold Nugget Awards in the custom home building category, the Custom Home Builder of the Year awards from Custom Builder Magazine, and MAME Gold awards for One-of-a-Kind Custom Home and Best Attached Project categories.

Tom Fisher used his engineering degree to start the firm and built Fisher Custom Homes into one of the finest custom home builders in Scottsdale. Through his efforts and expertise, the firm became an HBACA member, an Energy Star Partner, and a Certified Green Home Builder.

Fisher Custom Homes specializes in contemporary houses, Spanish colonial, rustic ranch, Santa Barbara, and Mediterranean homes. Terracotta roofs and natural stone walls with matching Mediterranean interiors are all common features.


2) Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes

8755 E Bell Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85260

Founded in 1986, Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes specializes in building and working with luxury homes. It services Fountain Hills, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Paradise Valley. Tony Calvis, a long-time carpenter, and Gary Wyant, an architectural designer, teamed up to establish one of Scottsdale’s finest custom home builders.

Over the years, Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes has been recognized by different award-giving bodies that celebrate the hard work, innovation, and talents of custom home builders in the area. The firm has won multiple Gold Nugget Best Custom Home awards, an NAHB Silver Award, a Residential Design and Build Excellence Award, a BALA Gold Award, an award for Home Book Design Excellence, and many more. PHX Architecture, Luxe, Phoenix Business Journal, and Home Book Design Excellence have all featured the firm’s work.

Calvis Wyant Luxury Homes builds luxury contemporary homes, Mediterranean, traditional, colonial, and Spanish colonial houses. Stone pillars, wooden ceiling beams, and intricately decorated stone arches adorn the firm’s luxury home projects.


1) Camelot Homes

6607 N Scottsdale Rd., Suite H-100 Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Camelot Homes are known to be one of the finest custom home builders in Scottsdale. The firm has built thousands of luxury homes in its more than 40 years of service to Scottsdale and Metropolitan Phoenix. Mark Hancock, the firm’s co-founder, earned his business administration degree from Arizona State University. Julie Hancock, also a co-founder, has a degree in marketing and finance. Both Mark and Julie have used their degrees and independent experiences to establish their firm and set it up for success.

The firm’s excellent custom home building expertise is featured in Arizona Foothills, AZ Big Media, Builder Magazine, Phoenix Business Journal, Scottsdale Independent, Arizona Republic, Builder and Developer Magazine, AZ Business Magazine, AZRE, Residential Architect,  Modern Luxury, In Business Magazine, AZ Central, and on Channel 3 as well.

In addition to multiple features in different magazines, Camelot Homes has been awarded the Gold Nugget five times for different custom home building categories, and they’ve brought home multiple MAME awards and the NAHB Product of the Year. They were even named Best Arizona Builder by Ranking Arizona.



How can I find a home builder near me?

Read our latest articles on the best custom home builders near Scottsdale. 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 Phoenix

Custom home builders in Chandler

Custom home builders in Tuscon

Custom home builders in Mesa

Custom home builders in Arizona


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