Executives and business professionals starting a new role, empty nesters ready for a new chapter, families thinking about schools and everyday life: there are many reasons to make the move. Whatever brings you to Des Moines, it begins before the city feels familiar. You don’t yet know the light on a winter afternoon or the street you’ll come home to. Somewhere in between, there is a home to imagine.
When life brings you somewhere new, the first home can feel like a compromise: a rental chosen from a listing, or the best of what is for sale the week you visit. A custom home asks for something different. It asks you to decide how you want to live here, often before you live here. That is less daunting than it sounds, if the process was built to travel.
As you explore, use district websites to check school boundaries and programs, and review public community information for the questions that matter to you. The right fit is personal, and it starts with the life you want here.
Building from a distance
Most of a custom home is decided at a table, not on a jobsite. At Showtime, design begins with a questionnaire of hundreds of questions, room by room, along with your inspiration photos. Our in-house team draws the floor plans, then the exterior, then renderings of the outside and your key rooms, so you can see the home before it’s built. Each layout locks before we move on to the next.
That order suits someone who isn’t here yet. The decisions that shape the home arrive one at a time, with something real to react to: a plan, an elevation, a rendering. You can study them in the evening, after a long day in another time zone, and come back with notes.
Following the build from anywhere
Once construction starts, the build lives in our Buildertrend client portal, on the web or the iPhone and Android apps. You see the live schedule, jobsite photos and video, online selections, change requests and e-signed documents. You track the budget and approve each draw. Any change after you sign is yours to approve there, too.
Some moments are worth the trip. Our team is on site through the build, and along the way we walk the home with you. Dig Day, the day we break ground, is a premiere: a red carpet, shovels, your loved ones welcome and a jar of dirt from your lot to keep.
The decisions that shape the home arrive one at a time, with something real to react to.
Why one fixed price matters more from afar
When you can’t stop by the site every week, the shape of the contract matters. In a cost-plus arrangement, the final price typically reflects actual project costs plus the builder’s agreed fee. That is a lot to keep an eye on from another state.
We build every Showtime home for one fixed price, not cost-plus, covering design, permits, site work, the house, finishes, landscaping and pools. The price is set once your design is final: every trade bids your final plans, and we bring it all together into one number, with allowances for the finishes still to come. You’re welcome to have your attorney read the agreement before you sign.
Your contract sets the fixed price. Choices above an allowance are billed as an allowance overage, and changes after signing are yours to approve in the client portal.
Read the story: Fixed price or cost‑plus? →
A timeline that fits a move
Relocations run on their own calendars: a start date, a school year, the sale of a house somewhere else. Building gives you a chance to line those up. Our typical home finishes in under six months from groundbreaking, often under five with good weather; larger homes take longer. Design comes before that, and it moves at the pace of your decisions.
Your contract sets the fixed price. Choices above an allowance are billed as an allowance overage, and changes after signing are yours to approve in the client portal.
If you don’t have land yet, we start there. We walk lots with you at no charge, weighing amenities, schools, commute and design potential, and our local contacts can sometimes turn up land that isn’t on the market. Before you buy, we suggest a due-diligence window, so the soil, utilities, grading, setbacks and drainage are understood before the land is yours.
Getting to know the region
Choosing where to build is a bigger question when the whole region is new. Greater Des Moines is a metro of distinct communities: established neighborhoods close to the city’s core, newer neighborhoods at the edges where lots open up, and acreage within an easy drive. Which one fits depends on your commute, your schools, how much land you want and how quiet you like your evenings.
Des Moines sits at the crossroads of Interstate 35 and Interstate 80, and Des Moines International Airport offers nonstop flights to dozens of destinations, among them Chicago, Denver, Dallas–Fort Worth, Atlanta, New York and Washington, D.C. Some routes are seasonal. The average commute for workers in the city of Des Moines is under 20 minutes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
For newcomers, the Greater Des Moines Partnership offers a relocation guide and introductions to DSM MVPs, local community champions who answer questions about life here. We’re glad to talk through the region with you, too. It’s the part of the conversation where local knowledge matters most.
Finding your corner of Des Moines
The right place starts with your ordinary day: where you need to be, the people you want nearby and the land that feels like home. Begin with these communities, then let the right lot bring the picture into focus.
West Des Moines
Raccoon River Park and the Jordan Creek Greenbelt put water and trails alongside everyday city life. Start here if your idea of settling in includes a walk after work rather than another appointment.
Waukee
A network of city parks and trails gives Waukee an outdoors-minded rhythm. For a new home, consider how the lot connects to that network, not just what fits inside its boundaries.
Ankeny
The High Trestle Trail begins in Ankeny, making a long ride part of the local landscape. It is a place to consider when being able to head out on two wheels matters as much as the garage you come home to.
Johnston
Terra Park brings a fishing lake, walking trails and broad lawns into the middle of the community. If green space belongs in your daily routine, put Johnston on the first scouting trip.
Urbandale
Living History Farms gives Urbandale a distinctive link to Iowa’s rural past. Consider it for a home base where a weekend can include an outdoor museum as easily as an afternoon at home.
Clive
The Greenbelt Trail is a defining thread through Clive. When you look at land here, think about the route from your front door to the trail as carefully as the view from the back windows.
Grimes
Waterworks Park pairs a splash pad with playgrounds and natural play areas. Grimes is worth exploring when the life around a new home includes afternoons outside with children.
Norwalk
The McAninch Sports Complex makes field sports part of Norwalk’s community landscape. For a household whose evenings revolve around practice, it is a useful place to begin the map.
Adel
A courthouse square and historic brick streets give Adel a tangible small-town center. Consider it when you want the search for a new home to begin somewhere with an older story.
Indianola
Simpson College and a downtown square give Indianola a college-town note of its own. It deserves a look if you want a distinct community identity, rather than choosing solely by proximity to the office.
Drive the actual route at the hours you will use it. Confirm school boundaries, utilities, covenants and lot availability for the specific property before deciding; a community name alone cannot answer those questions.
A closer look at the process
After a short conversation with our team, we can mail you a printed guide to the full building process. Begin with an inquiry below so we can get to know your plans and see whether we’re the right fit.
Questions we hear from afar
Can we design our home before we move?
Yes. Design happens at the table and on screen. The questionnaire, floor plans, exterior and renderings come to you in order, and each layout locks before we move on. When you’re in town, our studio is open by appointment.
How will we follow the build if we’re not here?
Through our Buildertrend client portal, on the web or the iPhone and Android apps. You’ll see the live schedule, jobsite photos and video, online selections, change requests and e-signed documents, and you’ll track the budget and approve each draw.
Can you help us find land?
Yes. If you don’t have a lot yet, we search with you first. We walk lots with you at no charge, weighing amenities, schools, commute and design potential, and our local contacts can sometimes turn up land that isn’t on the market.
How long does a custom home take?
Our typical home finishes in under six months from groundbreaking, often under five with good weather; larger homes take longer. Design comes first and moves at the pace of your decisions.
Is the price fixed?
Yes. Every Showtime home is built for one fixed price, not cost-plus, set once your design is final, covering design, permits, site work, the house, finishes, landscaping and pools.
Can our relocation realtor be part of it?
Yes. Realtors are welcome. If you’re working with one, tell us on the inquiry form and add their name.
Which Des Moines suburbs should we explore for a build?
Start with your daily routine. West Des Moines, Waukee, Ankeny, Johnston, Urbandale, Clive, Grimes, Norwalk, Adel and Indianola offer different settings. Compare the actual commute and check the specific lot’s schools, utilities and covenants before choosing.
Tell us where you’re coming from and when you’d like to be home. We’ll take it from there.