Perry Homes or Highland Homes in Austin, which is better?

Neither is better overall; they are both well-regarded Texas move-up builders with overlapping price bands, and they compete in roughly nine of the same Austin-area communities. Perry suits a buyer who wants the house to arrive mostly right, because more is included as standard and fewer upgrades are needed. Highland suits a buyer who wants to shape the home and enjoys the design process, and who values its floor-plan design and smart-home options. If you like both, price each as you would actually build it and take the better written incentive.

What is the difference between Perry Homes and Highland Homes?

Where the money goes. Perry competes on what comes included, with higher ceilings, larger kitchens, and a long standard-features list on a deliberately limited plan library, so buyers often reach the home they wanted with fewer upgrades. Highland competes on floor-plan design and the design-centre experience, with smart-home options, and is priced at a premium to value and volume builders. The base prices look similar; the as-you-would-build-it prices are what differ.

Can you negotiate with Perry Homes or Highland Homes?

Not the base price, with either. Both hold it and compete instead through inventory incentives, design-centre allowances, and lender rate buydowns, with the strongest offers typically near quarter end. For both builders the real room is in the lot premium and the design centre, which is where an independent agent who knows the community is worth having.

Do Perry Homes and Highland Homes build in the same Austin communities?

Frequently, yes. They appear together in more Austin-area communities than any other builder pairing covered on this site, roughly nine. That is unusual, and it helps: it often lets you hold the neighbourhood constant and compare the two houses directly, rather than trading off builder against location.

Are Perry Homes and Highland Homes good quality?

Both are generally well regarded for Texas production builders, with reasonable warranty service, and Highland's buyer-satisfaction reputation in its tier is among the stronger ones. Perry starts from a higher standard-features baseline than most volume builders. Both are still production homes, so budget for an independent inspection at framing and again before the one-year warranty expires, as you would with any builder at this scale.

A tree-lined street of new homes under mature oaks at golden hour in the Austin metro

Builder comparison

Perry Homes vs Highland Homes in Austin

This is the head-to-head Austin buyers actually face. Across the metro's master plans these two sit side by side more often than any other pairing on this site, in roughly nine communities, so plenty of people tour both model homes on the same afternoon. They are also genuinely similar: both are Texas builders, both sit in the move-up tier, their price bands overlap almost completely, and both hold the base price and compete on what surrounds it. The difference is narrower than with the volume builders, and it comes down to where the money goes.

An independent comparison from Luke Allen, TREC #788149. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Perry Homes or Highland Homes.

Prefer to talk now? Call or text 254-718-2567

Deciding between the two?

Tell me the communities you are considering and I will get the current written incentive from both and tell you which is genuinely the better buy this month.

The short answer

One puts it in the base price, the other puts it in the design studio. Perry's pitch is what comes included: higher ceilings, larger kitchens, and a long list of standard features, on a deliberately limited plan library refined over decades. The intended result is that you reach the home you wanted with fewer must-have upgrades. Highland competes on floor-plan design and the design-centre experience itself, with a guided process and smart-home options, and is priced at a premium to value and volume builders. Neither is cheaper in the end by default. What differs is the path: with Perry more of the house is decided before you walk in, and with Highland more of it is decided by you, and paid for, on the way through. Compare the price of the home as you would actually build it, not the base.

Side by side

The basics

Pulled from each builder's own profile on this site, so these stay in step with the full builder pages.

	Perry Homes→	Highland Homes→
Market segment	Move-up	Move-up
Austin price band	high $300s to $700s and up, as of 2026	$350s to $700s and up, as of 2026
Origin and ownership	Texas-based, Houston. Family-owned since 1967	Texas-based, Dallas. Founded 1985
The core pitch This is the whole comparison in one row. Everything below follows from it.	Generous standard features, so buyers report fewer must-have upgrades to reach the home they wanted.	Floor-plan design and a well-run, guided design-centre experience with smart-home options.
Where your money goes after the base On both, the lot premium and the design centre are where an agent earns their fee, not the base price.	Lot premium mostly, with the design centre adding up once you move past the standard palette.	Lot premium and the design studio, which is a larger share of the spend because the selections are the experience.
Who they are	Houston-based and family-owned since 1967, with a long Texas track record.	Dallas-based, founded 1985, Texas-only focus and the local knowledge that comes with it.
Plan flexibility Neither is the choice for someone who wants to redesign the floor plan. That is a semi-custom conversation.	A fixed, deliberately limited plan library. Little structural flexibility if you want to move walls.	Attractive, functional plans, but popular ones repeat within and across communities.
Where they are strongest	A strong presence in the top Williamson and Hays County master plans.	A frequent presence in highly rated school communities across the metro.

The part the comparison pages leave out

Where they are effectively identical

Most of what buyers think separates these two does not. Knowing where they match is what stops you negotiating the wrong thing.

01
They are often in the same community
Across the metro's master plans these two appear together more than any other pairing covered here. That means the choice is frequently not about location at all, which is unusual and genuinely simplifies it: you can hold the neighbourhood constant and judge the houses.
02
Both hold the base price
Neither moves meaningfully on the base price of a to-be-built home. Both compete through inventory incentives, design-centre allowances, and lender rate buydowns, and both push hardest near quarter end. Negotiating the sticker with either is negotiating the wrong number.
03
The savings live in the same two places
For both builders the real room is the lot premium and the design centre. That is identical advice for each, and it is the part most buyers do not push on because the base price feels like the negotiation.
04
Both are well regarded, and both still need inspecting
Each has a solid reputation for a Texas production builder with reasonable warranty service, and Highland's buyer-satisfaction standing in its tier is among the stronger ones. They are still production homes, so an independent inspection at framing and again before the one-year warranty expires is worth the money with either.

In their own column

What each is known for, and what to watch

Taken from each builder's full profile. The watch-fors are tradeoffs inherent to building at volume, not accusations.

Perry Homes→

Known for

+Generous standard features, so buyers often report fewer must-have upgrades to reach the home they wanted
+Functional, well-liked floor plans refined over many years
+A strong presence in the metro's top Williamson and Hays County master plans
+A Texas builder that understands local lots, drainage, and the summer heat

Watch for

−A fixed plan library means limited structural flexibility if you want to move walls
−Popular plans repeat, so your elevation and layout may appear elsewhere on the street
−Design-center selections still add up quickly once you move past the standard palette
−Build times can stretch during high-demand stretches, and premium lots carry real premiums

How they negotiate

Perry tends to hold its base price fairly firmly and competes through what it includes, but it does run incentives on inventory homes and rate buydowns, especially as quarters close. For a Perry buyer the savings usually live in the lot premium and the design center, which is exactly where an independent agent who knows the community earns their keep.

Highland Homes→

Known for

+Attractive, functional floor plans that photograph and live well
+A well-run, guided design-center experience with smart-home options
+Texas-only focus and the local knowledge that comes with it
+A frequent presence in highly rated school communities

Watch for

−Premium pricing relative to value and volume builders
−Design-center selections add up quickly beyond the standard palette
−Popular plans repeat within and across communities
−Build times vary with demand, and premium lots command premiums

How they negotiate

Highland holds base price and competes through inventory incentives, design-center allowances, and lender rate buydowns. As with the other move-up builders, a represented buyer finds the savings in the lot premium and the design studio, and in timing an inventory home near quarter-end.

Which should you pick

Resolved by buyer, not by winner

There is no overall winner between two builders this similar. There is a better fit for your situation.

Pick
Perry Homes
You would rather the house arrive mostly right than specify it
The standard-features model means fewer decisions and fewer upgrades needed to reach the home you pictured. If a design-centre marathon sounds like a chore rather than a treat, this is the easier purchase.
Pick
Perry Homes
You are buying in a Williamson or Hays County master plan
That is where Perry's presence is strongest, so the community choice and the builder choice often line up without compromise.
Pick
Highland Homes
You want to shape the house and enjoy the process
The guided design studio and the smart-home options are the product as much as the floor plan is. If you intend to make real choices, you get more out of what you are paying a premium for.
Pick
Highland Homes
The plan itself is what sold you
Highland competes on floor-plan design, and buyers who prefer its layouts rarely find an identical equivalent in the Perry library, because both plan libraries are fixed.
Pick
Either, priced as you would build it
You like both model homes and cannot separate them
Then do the only comparison that settles it: price each one as you would actually build it, including the lot premium and a realistic design-centre number, and take whichever has the stronger written incentive that quarter. Base prices this close tell you almost nothing.

Compare the full profiles: Perry Homes and Highland Homes. Current offers from both are on the incentives page, and what a buydown is really worth is on the buydown calculator.

The part that decides it

Between two builders this close, the incentive is the tiebreaker

+Both Perry Homes and Highland Homes hold the base price and compete on standing inventory and financing, so the better deal is whichever has an aged spec home and a stronger written offer this quarter. That changes month to month.
+I get the current written incentive from both, on the specific homes you are considering, rather than the number on the sign.
+I price each builder's in-house lender against an outside quote on the same day, because an incentive tied to their lender can hide a higher rate.
+Buyer representation only. The agent in the model home works for the builder; I work for you, on the contract and the inspections.
+The builder pays my fee in most cases, disclosed in writing before you tour. Rated 5.0 across 6 verified Google reviews.

Get both offers compared

Tell me the communities you are weighing and I will come back with the current written incentive from each and an honest read on which is the better buy.

Good to know

Perry Homes vs Highland Homes, answered

Perry Homes or Highland Homes in Austin, which is better?: Neither is better overall; they are both well-regarded Texas move-up builders with overlapping price bands, and they compete in roughly nine of the same Austin-area communities. Perry suits a buyer who wants the house to arrive mostly right, because more is included as standard and fewer upgrades are needed. Highland suits a buyer who wants to shape the home and enjoys the design process, and who values its floor-plan design and smart-home options. If you like both, price each as you would actually build it and take the better written incentive.
What is the difference between Perry Homes and Highland Homes?: Where the money goes. Perry competes on what comes included, with higher ceilings, larger kitchens, and a long standard-features list on a deliberately limited plan library, so buyers often reach the home they wanted with fewer upgrades. Highland competes on floor-plan design and the design-centre experience, with smart-home options, and is priced at a premium to value and volume builders. The base prices look similar; the as-you-would-build-it prices are what differ.
Can you negotiate with Perry Homes or Highland Homes?: Not the base price, with either. Both hold it and compete instead through inventory incentives, design-centre allowances, and lender rate buydowns, with the strongest offers typically near quarter end. For both builders the real room is in the lot premium and the design centre, which is where an independent agent who knows the community is worth having.
Do Perry Homes and Highland Homes build in the same Austin communities?: Frequently, yes. They appear together in more Austin-area communities than any other builder pairing covered on this site, roughly nine. That is unusual, and it helps: it often lets you hold the neighbourhood constant and compare the two houses directly, rather than trading off builder against location.
Are Perry Homes and Highland Homes good quality?: Both are generally well regarded for Texas production builders, with reasonable warranty service, and Highland's buyer-satisfaction reputation in its tier is among the stronger ones. Perry starts from a higher standard-features baseline than most volume builders. Both are still production homes, so budget for an independent inspection at framing and again before the one-year warranty expires, as you would with any builder at this scale.

Keep exploring

Builder-paid representation

Still deciding between Perry Homes and Highland Homes?

Tell Luke which communities you are considering and he will get the current written incentive from both, compare their lenders against an outside quote, and tell you which is the better buy right now.

Luke Allen

Licensed Texas REALTOR, TREC #788149

Austin Marketing + Development Group

Call 254-718-2567 Text Luke