Building: Production builder versus custom builder

I recently moved back to New Orleans and currently looking for a home in the Metairie/Harahan area. After a couple of weeks looking at dozens of houses, we can't find anything we really like. We were hoping to spend about $250K when it was all said and done (home plus any renovations). After not finding anything, we looked at going up to $300K. But all that seems to get us is more space but not nicer floor plans. So now building is on the list.

Here's what we want. Under 2K square feet and 3 BR. Open floor plan with a kitchen that blends into a great room. A master suite with double walk in closets, seperate shower/tub and dual vanities. Nice kitchen cabinets/appliances/countertops. Carpet in bedrooms, wood in the rest. Don't want a bonus room.

We met with Cretin Homes which I would consider a Production builder. They have 5 floor plans they start with. Moving stuff around and customizing it is easy and doesn't add cost unless you add more space. We found a floor plan that is perfect for what I've been looking for. The only things I would need to do is flip the kitchen from one wall to the other so it lines up perfectly with the great room and TV, upgrade to gas stove and put in a custom shower versus a pre fab shower. I'm sure other minor things will offer chances to upgrade, but I liked all of the finishes and stuff in the model. Their model shows the base house...if you see it in the model it's standard, so no bait and switch.

The house is 1900 square feet living plus a double garage. The price is $170K for the house plus any upgrades (figure $10-20K, although we would keep this very low). The other costs would be the lot, pilings and driveway/landscaping. I'm figuring $10K for the driveway and $100K for the lot and pilings (willing to wait to find the right lot that would come in at this price).

All told that brings us to around $300K. Is this reasonable for a decent home under 2K sf?

I'm meeting with a custom builder tomorrow that's a friend of a friend. He already has lots and is looking to build on them and sell. I'm wondering if he can either beat the Cretin price or give us more for the same money.

Anybody else look at these options? A true custom home versus a modified but generic plan doesn't matter to us. We're trying to figure out if it's worth it to spend close to $300K on a brand new "dream" home that we will hopefully live in for a long time...or spend $230K on a house that we sacrifice a lot of "wants" and look to sell again in 5-10 years to get into our dream home. To me it makes sense to just go for the new house now and be happy.