Table of Contents
- Compare the Six Towns on Land, Airport Drive, and Site Work
- Build in Bend, Where New Era Homes Is Based
- Build in Redmond to Stay Close to the Airport
- Build in Sisters for Trees and Views
- Build in Prineville for Acreage and Room to Spread Out
- Build in Madras for a Quieter Pace Two Hours From Portland
- La Pine Suits Buyers Who Want Rural Land
- Four Things to Check Before You Settle on a Town
- Narrow Down the Towns, Then Let Us Look at the Land
Summarize
See what land each town offers, how far you’ll drive to the airport, whether the internet will hold up, and what a parcel needs before we build.
Working from home removes the commute from the decision. What’s left is the land you can find, the drive to Redmond Airport when you need to fly, whether the internet at the address can handle a full workweek, and how much site work a parcel needs before the house can start. Each Central Oregon town lands a little differently on those four.
New Era Homes builds on your own land in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Prineville, Madras, and La Pine. Here’s where to look first, depending on what matters most to you:
- Bend if you want shops, restaurants, and services close by and a builder based in town
- Redmond if you’ll fly often and want the airport in your own town
- Sisters if you want trees or a view and don’t mind more planning up front
- Prineville if you want acreage, with the site work that can come with it
- Madras if you want a quieter pace about two hours from Portland, and a longer airport drive is fine
- La Pine if you want a rural lot about 30 miles from Bend and you’re ready to plan for a well, septic, and longer utility runs
A specific parcel usually makes the choice easier, and New Era Homes offers a no-cost property evaluation before you buy.
Compare the Six Towns on Land, Airport Drive, and Site Work
Start with the kind of land you want, then read across. Drive times come from Redmond Airport’s own estimates. Internet connectivity will inevitably vary by address, so it isn’t in the table. For how fast each town is growing, see the fastest-growing cities in Central Oregon.
| Town | Land You’ll Find | Drive to Redmond Airport | Site Work to Plan For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bend | In-town and close-in lots near shops and services | 30 minutes | Rock, which can affect digging for the foundation, utilities, and septic |
| Redmond | Some smaller lots, where the plan has to use space well | The airport is in Redmond | Septic or sewer, utility hookups, and the driveway |
| Sisters | Wooded and view lots | 30 minutes | Trees, slope, the driveway, and where the house sits |
| Prineville | Acreage and rural property outside town | 30 minutes | Well and septic, power, access, and clearing or grading |
| Madras | More room and land, with a quieter pace | 45 minutes | Varies widely from one property to the next |
| La Pine | More rural properties | 45 minutes | Longer utility runs, a well, septic design, a long driveway, and clearing |
Build in Bend, Where New Era Homes Is Based
Bend is New Era Homes’ home base, and you’ll find the most shops, restaurants, and services nearby.
Around Bend, check the lot for rock. It doesn’t rule out a lot, but it changes what the foundation, utilities, and septic will take. We’ll help you price the digging before you commit to a design.
Build in Redmond to Stay Close to the Airport
Redmond is home to Redmond Airport, so it’s the easy pick if you fly for work or to see family.
Some Redmond lots are on the smaller side. These make a smaller footprint feel roomy:
- An open layout
- Higher ceilings
- Bigger windows
- Well-placed bedrooms
We’ll price the land and site work separately from the house, so you can see what the lot adds. Read more about building a custom home in Redmond.
Build in Sisters for Trees and Views
If you’ve pictured trees outside the window or a view from the deck, Sisters is the place to look. Those lots need more planning before the floorplan is final. Trees, slope, the driveway, and utilities all affect cost.
We fit the plan to the site, turning windows and outdoor living toward the view. See what goes into building a custom home in Sisters.
Build in Prineville for Acreage and Room to Spread Out
Prineville works if you want acreage or rural land and still want Bend’s shops and services within reach.
More land can also mean more site work. Outside town, we check access, power, land-use rules, and whether a well and septic will work. Learn more about building on acreage around Prineville.
“New Era Homes has a homeowner website where they posted pictures of our home’s progress every day. We loved being able to check in and watch our home take shape. They also provided a calendar showing what was scheduled to be worked on and when. That level of communication and transparency gave us peace of mind and made the entire building process much more enjoyable.”
Build in Madras for a Quieter Pace Two Hours From Portland
Madras sits about 45 miles north of Bend and about two hours from Portland by car.
Site work can vary widely from one Madras property to the next, so we look at the land early, before you pick a plan. Here’s more on building a semi-custom home in Madras.
La Pine Suits Buyers Who Want Rural Land
La Pine sits about 30 miles from Bend, and on its rural land, much of the site work comes before the house. Each of these can add cost before the foundation goes in:
- Power and utilities with farther to travel
- A well
- A septic design
- A long driveway
- Clearing
We’ll help you sort those out before you lock in a plan.
You’ll want a home that’s easy to keep comfortable year-round, so insulation, windows, and heating matter. Triple-pane windows are one of the standards New Era Homes includes. Learn more about building a custom home in La Pine.
Four Things to Check Before You Settle on a Town
1. How Much of the Lot You Can Build On
A big parcel can still have only a small area that works for both the septic system and the house. Look at the usable ground, not just the acreage.
2. Flights Out of Redmond Airport
If you fly often, check that your usual routes are covered. Redmond Airport has 30 daily flights on five airlines. Direct service reaches Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Burbank, Phoenix, and Dallas-Fort Worth. Factor in the drive time from the property itself, since a rural lot can add minutes to the town’s travel time.
3. Internet at the Exact Address
Service can change between neighboring properties, in town or out. Check the specific address with each provider before you make an offer. Here’s how to check whether a Central Oregon lot has internet fast enough to work from.
Once service is confirmed, the house side gets easier. A low-voltage patch panel for whole-home connectivity is one of New Era Homes’ Uncommon Standards, and running cable to your office is far easier while the walls are open.
4. Site Work Before the House Starts
Our home price is fixed on proven plans, and it assumes a level lot with access on all sides. Anything beyond that is a separate lot cost that varies by property. See what your lot adds to the home price.
New Era Homes offers a no-cost property evaluation that checks zoning, setbacks, septic, utilities, and access. Learn more about how we evaluate land before you buy.
Narrow Down the Towns, Then Let Us Look at the Land
You don’t need a town picked or a parcel under contract before you talk with us. We can work with you to narrow down locations and parcels, starting with our first consultation.
In an online consultation, we’ll hear how you work and how often you travel, then talk through which towns fit. We’ll also look at what a parcel might need and which floorplans suit the lots you like.
You don’t have to live nearby while we build. Our team supervises construction on site, and we post most updates daily to the project software, so you can follow along from wherever you are. Here’s how building from out of town works.
“We did a lot of research before choosing New Era, but were still worried about extra costs and things not being done the way we wanted them — mostly because we lived 3 hours away and knew we wouldn’t be able to be at the construction site during every step of the way. Once the build was on the way, we had nothing but pleasant surprises. . . . The construction supervisors caught every tiny little issue and made sure things were fixed.”
