Custom vs. Spec in Luzerne County: Pick Your Poison

by Chris Madden

The "New Construction" Crossroads

So, you’ve decided you’re done with old houses. You’re tired of the bidding wars on 80-year-old capes in Kingston and you don't want to inherit someone else’s DIY plumbing disasters in Mountain Top.

You want new.

But now you have a choice to make: Do you buy a "Spec" home that’s already standing, or do you buy a raw lot and build Custom from scratch?

I get asked this every week. The answer usually comes down to how much patience you have—and how much you hate "compromise."

Here is the no-BS breakdown of what it actually looks like to build in our market right now.

Option 1: The Spec Home (The Fast Lane)

A "Spec" (Speculative) home is one a builder started without a buyer. They picked the lot, the floorplan, and usually the finishes.

The Pros:

Speed: If the framing is up in Dallas or the foundation is poured in Saddle Ridge, you could be moving in within 60–90 days.
Fixed Price: What you see is (mostly) what you pay. You aren’t going to get hit with a surprise $20,000 bill because the price of lumber jumped next Tuesday.
Less Brain Damage: You don't have to pick out every doorknob, grout color, and hinge. The builder’s design team already did it.

The Cons:

You Don’t Get Everything: You might get the kitchen island you want, but you might hate the carpet in the bedrooms. With a Spec, you take what you can get.
Competition: Good specs in the Back Mountain area sell fast. If you see it, three other people have seen it too.

Who this is for: The buyer who sold their house and needs a place to live now, or the person who gets overwhelmed by too many choices.

Option 2: The Custom Build (The Marathon)

This is the dream. You buy a raw lot—maybe a few acres in Dorrance or a premium spot in a new phase in Mountain Top—and you hire a builder to create exactly what you want.

The Pros:

Zero Compromise: You want a 4-car garage? A finished basement with a wet bar? A master suite the size of your current apartment? If you can fund it, you can build it.
Privacy: You aren't stuck with whatever lot was left over. You pick the view.

The Cons:

The "Luzerne County Rock" Tax: Here is the reality check. Our ground is full of rock. I’ve seen site costs balloon by $15k overnight because an excavator hit a boulder the size of a Toyota.
Time: A true custom build is going to take 9–12 months minimum. If we have a bad winter or the supply chain chokes, it takes longer.
Decision Fatigue: You will have to make 5,000 decisions. Some people love this; others want to pull their hair out by month four.

Who this is for: The buyer with a flexible timeline and a specific vision who refuses to settle for "standard."

The Verdict

There is no wrong answer, but there is an expensive one: Indecision.

While you are debating, the best lots are getting claimed and interest rates aren't waiting for you.

I can help you navigate both paths.

I track the "Hidden Inventory" of Spec homes that aren't on Zillow yet.
I know which local builders can actually deliver a Custom home on time (and which ones you should avoid like the plague).

Don't guess. Let’s look at the numbers.