In mid-2024, personal finance and investing website WalletHub published a real estate analysis listing Denton as one of the most promising markets for single-family residences. The WalletHub report cited Denton and three other cities in North Texas that offered prospective home buyers better value for new construction projects. In recent years, the North Texas regional market has attracted many newcomers who work, study, or do business in the Dallas metropolitan area, which has been experiencing a northward expansion.
If you are building a custom or spec home in Denton, here are a few tips to help you increase your property value and make it a better investment:
Work With a Trusted Local Builder
All the tips listed herein are well-known to seasoned home builders and residential developers in Denton. When it comes to custom and spec home projects, you always want to contract a reputable local building company familiar with regional climate conditions, compliance matters, and specific market factors. This is what nationwide development firms do, and it is a strategy you should emulate.
Heat-Resistant Building Materials and Adequate Insulation
Denton goes through hot and humid summers with many days exceeding 90°F temperatures. Without proper heat-resistant materials and insulation tailored to this climate, your homes will struggle to stay cool. You can avoid high electricity monthly bills and increased wear and tear of your air conditioning system with light-colored roofing and reflective sheathing. The goal is to reduce the amount of solar heat absorbed by your home. Moreover, proper insulation in the walls and attic creates a thermal envelope to improve energy efficiency.
Roof Orientation and Solar Energy Options
Denton gets many months of clear skies and sunshine, thus making it an ideal place to harvest solar energy. You can take advantage of this climate condition by installing roof solar panels. To maximize solar panel efficiency, your roof should generally face south. This orientation is ideal for capturing the most direct sunlight throughout the day. The Denton Municipal Electric Company manages a net metering program allowing homeowners to connect their solar panels to the power grid, thus lowering their monthly bills.
High-Efficiency HVAC Systems
Homeowners in Denton run their cooling systems for at least six months out of the year. If you don’t install a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system that optimizes energy efficiency, you will have to deal with high monthly bills, sweltering summers, frequent maintenance calls, and shorter equipment lifespans. For Denton, an ideal HVAC equipment Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) should be 16 or higher. Remember that weatherstripping, adequately sealed and insulated doors, and double-pane glass for your windows are factors that contribute to overall energy efficiency. Likewise, you can instruct the builder to place windows strategically; this reduces the need for artificial lighting during the day, which in turn reduces internal heat gain.
Finally, cooling efficiency can also be improved from the outside with strategic landscaping; to this effect, think about planting native species like Cedar Elms, Pecan trees, and American Beautyberry shrubs and avoid invasive ones.
Melissa Williams 
Alex Hamilton