Building a custom home usually means assembling a team yourself. A broker finds the land. An architect draws the house. A builder prices it and builds it. Every handoff is a place where the budget leaks and the vision gets diluted.
Haus Development Group LLC offers all three in one firm. Its founder, Zak Snider, holds a Master of Architecture from Yale, a North Carolina real estate license, and a North Carolina building contractor license, all listed on the company’s site. The firm describes itself as “a fully integrated real estate, design, and build firm” that takes a client from site selection through architectural design and construction.
The portfolio is small and visual. Six named projects, mostly photographs, with two addresses on Annandale Drive in Cary. This guide covers what the record shows and what to confirm before you sign.
Who Is Haus Development Group?
Haus Development Group LLC is a Raleigh-based design-build firm. Its website states the mission plainly: “to design and build beautiful custom homes that merge innovative design, quality materials, and functionality.”
Haus is listed as a builder member in the 2025 Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County directory, with a Mordecai Drive address in Raleigh. The company phone on its website is 614.506.0984, an Ohio area code, which matches the directory.
The founder
The About page gives Zak Snider’s background in detail. He has more than 20 years of real estate, construction and design experience, starting with a high school summer internship with a bricklayer in Ohio. He designed his parents’ home at 18, then earned a Master of Architecture from Yale.
After Yale he worked at SHoP Architects in New York, where he was on the design team for the Barclays arena in Brooklyn, and with an architect on high-end condo conversions in TriBeCa and SoHo. He then spent 12 years in commercial real estate and, by the company’s account, was responsible for more than 11 million square feet of office leasing, including Hudson Yards. He founded Haus to return to residential design and building.
The site also introduces Boomer, an Australian Labradoodle who comes to build sites and design meetings.
The licenses
The website footer lists both:
- NC Building Contractor License #100142
- NC Real Estate License #341966
That pairing is the core of the Haus model. It is also something to understand clearly before you sign, which we cover below.
Where Does Haus Development Group Build?
Haus says it builds “throughout the region” from its Raleigh base. Its project pages name two specific addresses:
- 105 Annandale Drive, Cary, shown on the project page titled 105 Haus;
- 404 Annandale Drive, where the “Dream Haus” project is listed as coming soon. The image caption on that page reads “Coming Soon to MacGregor Downs.”
That places current work in and around MacGregor Downs, Cary’s established golf club neighborhood. The firm’s office address is in Raleigh. Other project pages do not give locations.
What Does Haus Development Group Build?
Haus builds fully custom, architect-designed homes, and its website emphasizes architecture: the homepage quotes the architect Walter Gropius.
| Buyer question | What the public record shows |
|---|---|
| State contractor license | L.100142 (Haus Development Group LLC): Building classification, unlimited license limit, active through Dec. 31, 2026 per the NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, checked Oct. 14, 2026 |
| Business model | Real estate, design and construction in one firm |
| Principal | Zak Snider, founder; Master of Architecture, Yale |
| Licenses | NC Building Contractor #100142; NC Real Estate #341966 |
| Named projects | 105 Haus, Fifth Fairway Club Haus, 203 Haus, Dream Haus, Oak Haus, Birch Haus |
| Documented locations | 105 Annandale Drive, Cary; 404 Annandale Drive (MacGregor Downs, coming soon) |
| Published pricing | None |
| Process | Site selection, architectural design, construction; no detailed steps published |
| Warranty | Not published on the website |
The project pages
Each project page is a photo gallery with a title and little or no text. Apart from the two Annandale Drive pages, none states a location, and none gives a size or completion date. Ask Haus for the square footage, completion year and address of each project, and whether each was built for a client or as a spec home.
How Does Building With Haus Work?
Haus does not publish a step-by-step process. Its homepage describes three stages, and its tagline repeats them: “Dream It. Design It. Build It.”
- Site selection. Haus helps choose the lot; the firm holds a North Carolina real estate license.
- Architectural design. The founder’s architecture training drives the design.
- Construction. Haus builds the home under its contractor license.
The “Want to Build?” link on the site leads to a contact page with a phone number and email address.
What Should You Verify Before Signing With Haus Development Group?
Before signing with Haus, verify how the land, design and construction are priced, who represents you on the lot purchase, and what the warranty covers. Our guides to finding a Triangle builder and why the builder’s agent works for the builder explain how to keep someone on your side.
Separate the three fees
Ask how Haus is paid at each stage: any commission on the lot, the design fee, and the construction contract. Get each in writing. Integrated firms can save money, but only if you can see where it went.
Decide who represents you on the land
When the firm that will build your house also helps you buy the lot, it has a stake in that lot. We represent the buyer. The builder represents the builder. Have your own agent review the land price, the survey and the zoning before you close.
Confirm both licenses
Look up license #100142 with the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors and #341966 with the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. Confirm the contract names Haus Development Group LLC.
Ask for project details and references
Because the project pages are mostly photographs, ask for a list of completed homes with addresses, sizes and completion dates, and speak with two clients.
Check the infill and HOA rules
Teardown and infill lots in established neighborhoods like MacGregor Downs can carry HOA architectural review on top of town zoning. Ask Haus who manages that approval. Our guide to infill zoning covers the basics.
Get the warranty in writing
Haus’s website does not describe a warranty. Ask for the written terms and compare them with our home-builder warranty guide.
How Does Haus Compare With Other Building Options?
Haus combines three roles most buyers hire separately.
| Option | Land | Design | Construction | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haus Development Group | In-house broker | In-house architect-founder | In-house contractor | Buyers who want one firm from lot to keys |
| Architect plus builder | Your own agent | Independent architect | Separate builder | Buyers who want independent checks at each stage |
| Custom builder with plans | Builder lots or yours | Builder plans, modified | Builder | Buyers who want a proven plan and a faster start |
| Spec home in an established neighborhood | Included | Done | Done | Buyers who want new construction without the design phase |
Who Is a Strong Fit for Haus Development Group?
Haus fits a buyer who wants an architect-designed home in an established Cary or Raleigh neighborhood and wants one firm to handle the whole path.
The strongest candidates usually:
- have not found the lot yet and want help evaluating teardowns or infill sites;
- care about design and want a modern, architecturally driven house;
- are comfortable with a small firm led directly by its founder;
- will have their own agent review the land deal;
- will get the fees and warranty in writing before signing.
It is a weaker fit for buyers who want a published price list, a large portfolio of finished homes to tour, or a production schedule.
Final Thoughts About Haus Development Group From Tim Clarke
Haus brings an unusual resume to Triangle home building: a Yale architecture degree, a stint on the Barclays arena design team, and a decade-plus in commercial real estate, now focused on custom homes in neighborhoods like MacGregor Downs. For a buyer who wants design to lead, that is a real asset.
The integrated model is the part to manage. When one firm sells you the lot, designs the house and builds it, you want your own advocate checking each step.
I have spent 17+ years in Triangle real estate. Our team builds as well as sells, so we can evaluate a teardown lot, read a design-build contract, and tell you what the finished house should be worth in that neighborhood.
If Haus is on your list, call us at (919) 355-8462. We’ll represent you from the first lot visit to the final walkthrough.
Sources
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/about
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/projects
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/projects/oak-haus-2dlzc (105 Annandale Drive, Cary)
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/projects/oak-haus (Dream Haus, 404 Annandale Drive, MacGregor Downs)
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/projects/fifth-fairway-club-haus
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/projects/birch-haus
- https://www.hausdevelopmentgroup.com/contact
- 2025 HBA Raleigh-Wake County builder-member directory (print)
- https://portal.nclbgc.org/Public/Search (NC Licensing Board for General Contractors, license L.100142)
