Do You Need an Agent for New Construction in Katy?
For your benefit as a home purchaser,Yes. Buyers in Katy, TX should have their own agent registered before the first model home visit. Most builders require the buyer's agent to be present or registered on that first visit to be recognized. Mohebbi Realty Group registers clients with builders before touring, at no cost to the buyer.
TL;DR
Most Katy-area builders require your agent to be registered on or before your first visit to the model home or sales office — not the second visit, not before you sign a contract.
If you tour alone and sign the guest register, some builders will decline to recognize an agent you bring later, which means you either proceed unrepresented or pay that agent yourself.
Builders do not reduce the base price when a buyer arrives unrepresented. The co-op budget stays with the builder; it is not passed to you as a discount.
Texas builders almost always use their own proprietary contract rather than a TREC-promulgated form. Texas law permits this, because the builder is a principal to the transaction using its own document.
The person at the desk in the model home is retained by the builder. A buyer with no separate agent is unrepresented in the transaction.
Since the 2024 industry rule changes, a written buyer representation agreement must be in place before your agent tours homes with you — including builder model homes. That agreement states your agent's fee, and it is settled before you tour, not after.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Call an agent before you set foot in a Katy model home. Registration takes one phone call and cannot always be fixed later.
If you already toured alone, contact an agent today, not next week. Registration is often still possible if no contract has been signed — the window narrows fast.
Get the builder's co-op contribution confirmed in writing before you write an offer, so your buyer representation agreement and the builder's policy line up.
READ THIS FIRST: The first-visit registration rule
Your agent must be registered with the builder on or before your first visit to the model home or sales office. Not before you sign a contract. Not on your second trip out. The first time you walk through that door.
Here is the sequence that costs Katy buyers money every month:
A family drives out to a community on a Saturday afternoon to "just look."
They sign the guest register in the sales office. It feels like a formality.
Two weeks later, serious now, they hire an agent.
The builder points to the registration card and declines to recognize the agent, because the agent was not present at the first visit.
The family proceeds without representation, or pays the agent out of pocket.
The builder is not doing anything improper. A builder has no obligation to pay a buyer's agent who was not with the buyer on the initial visit. Every builder writes its own co-broker policy, and the language varies in ways that matter enormously. Some policies say the agent must accompany the buyer. Some say the agent may accompany. Those two words produce completely different outcomes in a dispute.
What registration actually takes: one phone call. We call the on-site sales representative, register as your buyer's representative, and your file is tagged before you ever arrive. It takes about three minutes and it is free.
Call or text us at (832) 455-3565 before your first tour. That single call is the entire point of this article.
Do you need an agent to buy new construction in Katy, TX?
You are not legally required to have one, but buying without one means no party in the transaction represents your interests. The builder's sales representative is retained by the builder. The title company is neutral. The lender works for the lender. A buyer with no separate agent is simply unrepresented.
New construction also involves a set of decisions that resale does not: lot selection and orientation, a nine-to-twelve month build window, change orders, a proprietary contract, structural option deadlines, and a warranty period that runs for years after closing.
Buying a New Construction Home: With Your Own Agent vs. Going Without One
Buying directly from a builder may seem straightforward, but there is an important difference between having your own representation and navigating the process alone. Here's how the experience can compare:
When You Have Your Own Agent
Your real estate agent is there to represent you throughout the transaction. They can help you understand the builder's contract, important terms, deadlines, and the overall buying process before you sign.
The base price of the home is typically the same whether you have your own agent or not. If the builder offers compensation to a cooperating broker, it is generally paid by the builder according to its agreement and policies.
Your agent can also help you evaluate available builder incentives, upgrades, financing offers, and other opportunities. They may have insight into current builder offerings and can help you compare your options.
Throughout construction, your agent can help you stay organized and keep track of important milestones. If you choose to have independent inspections, such as a pre-drywall inspection, your agent can help coordinate and remind you about those appointments. They can also help you stay aware of important warranty deadlines, including the 11-month warranty walk.
When You Don't Have an Agent
When you purchase a new construction home without your own agent, you are responsible for navigating the process yourself. The builder's sales representative can provide information about the builder and its homes, but they represent the builder—not you exclusively.
You'll be responsible for reviewing the contract, understanding the terms, tracking construction milestones, and scheduling any inspections you choose to have. You'll also need to keep track of warranty deadlines and follow up on any issues after you move in.
The base price is typically the same, and you'll have access to the incentives and promotions offered directly by the builder. However, it is up to you to evaluate those offers and determine which options make the most sense for your situation.
What happens if you already toured a model home without an agent?
Contact an agent immediately — the same day if possible. Registration is frequently still possible when no contract has been signed, and the outcome depends heavily on how much time has passed and which builder is involved.
Do not assume the situation is unrecoverable, and do not assume it is fine. Both assumptions cost people money. Some builders will honor a late registration. Some will not. Some will if the sales representative advocates for it internally, which is a relationship question as much as a policy one.
What helps your case:
Speed. Days matter. Weeks usually do not help.
No signed contract or reservation agreement.
No further contact with the sales office until representation is sorted out.
An agent with an existing relationship at that builder. Mohebbi Realty Group works with more than 40 builders across Greater Houston, which is the difference between a cold call and a conversation.
If you toured a Katy community this weekend, call or text (832) 455-3565 today rather than next week.
Does the builder lower the price if you do not bring an agent?
No. Builders do not reduce the base price because a buyer arrives unrepresented. The co-op budget is built into the builder's sales and marketing cost structure, and when no buyer's agent is involved, that money stays with the builder rather than converting into a discount for you.
This is the single most common misconception we encounter. Buyers assume they are cutting out a cost. They are not — they are declining a service that is already accounted for, while the builder's price sheet stays exactly where it was.
Builders also resist base price reductions for a structural reason: recorded sale prices set the comps for every remaining home in that section. Incentives do not show up in the comps the same way. That is why negotiation in new construction runs through incentives, not list price:
Interest rate buydowns through the builder's affiliated lender
Closing cost contributions
Design center or upgrade credits
Lot premium waivers or reductions
Appliance packages, blinds, fencing, and landscaping allowances
Extended rate locks on homes with longer build timelines
Who does the sales representative in the model home work for?
The builder. The person at the desk is retained by the builder and their duty runs to the builder.
This does not make them adversarial. Most are knowledgeable, straightforward people who will answer questions honestly. But they are not going to tell you the section down the road is carrying a better incentive package this month, and they are not going to advise you that the lot you selected backs a future commercial reserve.
Under Texas law, a license holder representing the seller must disclose that status on first contact with a license holder representing the buyer. What that means practically: the disclosure exists, but you have to have someone on your side for it to be disclosed to.
What does a buyer's agent actually do on a new construction build?
The work is concentrated in three places: before you sign, during the build, and after you close. Very little of it happens at the point most buyers imagine.
Before you sign:
Register you with each builder before the first visit
Pull the actual MUD rate, tax history, and current school zoning for the specific lot
Compare incentive packages across builders and sections
Read the builder's contract with you — including the completion deadline, delay provisions, and what happens if your rate lock expires
During the build:
Attend the pre-construction meeting and the pre-drywall walk
Coordinate an independent third-party inspection at pre-drywall and again before the final walk
Track change orders and confirm selections made it into the file
Manage the blue-tape walk and the punch list
After closing:
Remind you at month eleven to file warranty items before the one-year workmanship period expires
That last item alone recovers more money for buyers than most negotiations do, and it is the step unrepresented buyers miss most often. Our 2 Steps to Your Home process walks through the full sequence.
Do builders in Texas use the standard TREC contract?
Generally, no. Texas builders almost always use their own proprietary contract rather than a TREC-promulgated form. Texas license holders are ordinarily required to use TREC forms when one exists, but there is an established exception when a principal to the transaction — here, the builder — requires use of its own document.
This matters because the builder's contract is drafted by the builder's attorneys to protect the builder. Provisions worth reading closely include the completion deadline and what remedy you have if it slips, the arbitration clause, the deposit and what makes it non-refundable, the warranty terms, and whether the builder can substitute materials.
A brand-new home still needs independent inspections. Municipal inspections confirm code compliance; they are not a quality inspection performed on your behalf. Schedule an independent inspector at pre-drywall, before the final walk, and again around month eleven.
What changed under the 2024 buyer representation rules?
A written buyer representation agreement must now be in place before your agent tours homes with you, and that includes builder model homes. The agreement states your agent's compensation, and your agent cannot collect more than that stated amount from any source — the builder included.
The practical effect is that the money conversation happens up front instead of being assumed. The builder's co-op contribution gets confirmed in writing, your agreement specifies the fee, and any gap between the two is a known quantity before you write an offer rather than a surprise at closing.
Ask any agent you are considering, in this order: what is your fee, what is this builder's co-op policy in writing, and what happens if the two do not match.
Which Katy communities does this apply to?
All of them. Every active master-planned community in the Katy and Fulshear corridor has builder sales offices operating under their own registration policies, and those policies differ builder to builder within the same community.
Cinco Ranch — multiple builders active across remaining sections, each with its own co-broker terms.
Elyson, Cane Island, and Sunterra — large builder rosters where incentive packages diverge sharply between sections in the same month.
Firethorne — straddles the Katy and Fulshear line, so builders there sit across two counties and two school districts.
Cross Creek Ranch and Cross Creek West — Fulshear side, Lamar CISD, high delivery volume.
Bridgeland and Towne Lake — Cypress side, same registration mechanics.
The rule to carry into any of them is identical: register before the first visit. Browse our current new construction builder list or the Katy area guide before you plan a tour weekend. If this is your first purchase, start with our first-time homebuyer resources.
Why Mohebbi Realty Group
Bobby Mohebbi holds the Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Veterans Affairs Certified Agent (VA), and Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR) designations, and ranks in the top 1.5% of agents nationwide per RealTrends. Mohebbi Realty Group maintains working relationships with more than 40 builders across Katy, TX and Greater Houston, which means registration is a phone call rather than a negotiation. We pull the MUD rate, tax history, and current school zoning for every address before our clients tour, and we attend the pre-drywall and final walks rather than reappearing at closing. Buyer representation does not increase the price the builder charges you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need a realtor to buy new construction in Katy, TX? You are not legally required to have one, but without one, no party in the transaction represents your interests. The builder's sales representative is retained by the builder, and a buyer without separate representation is unrepresented. Most Katy-area builders require your agent to be registered on or before your first visit to the sales office for that agent to be recognized.
What happens if I visit a Katy model home without my agent? Some builders will decline to recognize an agent you bring on a later visit, because the agent was not present at the first visit. A builder has no obligation to pay a buyer's agent who was not with the buyer initially. Contact an agent immediately — registration is often still possible if no contract has been signed, but the window narrows quickly.
Does using a buyer's agent raise the price of a new construction home? No. Builders do not reduce the base price for unrepresented buyers, and the co-op fee is funded at closing from the builder's proceeds rather than added to your price. When no buyer's agent is involved, that budget stays with the builder. Your written buyer representation agreement states the fee and caps what your agent can collect from any source.
Do builders in Texas use the standard TREC contract? Generally, no. Texas builders almost always use their own proprietary contract rather than a TREC-promulgated form. Texas permits this exception because the builder is a principal to the transaction requiring use of its own document. The builder's contract is drafted to protect the builder, so the completion deadline, deposit terms, arbitration clause, and warranty provisions warrant close reading.
Do I need an inspection on a brand-new home in Katy? Yes. Municipal inspections confirm code compliance; they are not a quality inspection conducted on your behalf. Schedule an independent third-party inspector at pre-drywall, again before the final walk-through, and once more around month eleven so warranty items are filed before the one-year workmanship coverage expires.
Before you tour, make one phone call
Call or text Bobby Mohebbi at (832) 455-3565. We will register you with every builder on your list before you visit, so representation is never a question later. It takes about three minutes per builder and costs you nothing.
Get our current builder tour list — the Katy sections carrying live incentives this month — at /new-construction.
This article is general information about how builder registration policies and Texas contract forms typically work. It is not legal advice. Builder co-broker policies vary by builder and by community — confirm the specific policy in writing.
About the author
Bobby Mohebbi is the lead agent of Mohebbi Realty Group at Keller Williams Signature, 920 S Fry Rd, Katy, TX 77450. Designations: Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA), Veterans Affairs Certified Agent (VA), Short Sales & Foreclosure Resource (SFR). Recognized in the top 1.5% of agents nationwide by RealTrends, a Keller Williams Signature Top Producer, and a member of the Agent Leadership Council. Serving Katy, Fulshear, Cypress, Richmond, Sugar Land, and Greater Houston.
Call or text (832) 455-3565 · Bobby@mohebbirealtygroup.com
Published August 28, 2026. Builder policies and industry compensation rules change — verify current terms in writing before you tour.