Land is the hard part of building near Wake Forest. A builder that controls lots, plans, and the build itself takes much of that work off the buyer. It also hands the builder most of the pricing power.
MB Homes Construction is a Wake Forest custom builder that has been building in North Carolina since 2007. It works out of 401 Wait Avenue in downtown wake-forest and builds across Wake, Franklin, Granville, and Nash counties. Its current communities run from ranch homes on flat one-acre lots in the $400,000s to estate homes on one- to three-acre lots priced from $900,000 to $1.3 million.
This guide covers what MB publishes about itself, what its 2026 Parade of Homes entry shows, and what a buyer should get in writing before signing.
Who Is MB Homes Construction?
MB Homes Construction is a small, founder-led building company in Wake Forest run by builder Matt Baldwin. The company says it has been “crafting quality custom homes in North Carolina since 2007.”
How Matt Baldwin built the company
Baldwin grew up in the trade. His company biography says his father was a framer and his mother sold real estate. He started Matt Baldwin Homes while he was a student at NC State. According to the company, his first house won a Gold award and sold during the Triangle Parade of Homes. The biography does not give the year.
Baldwin kept building through the recession, usually one or two houses at a time, and took on renovations as well. The company says business picked up in 2017. That year he hired a project manager and an office manager and became known as a presale builder. MB now says it builds about 30 houses a year.
The current team listed on the company website:
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| Founder and builder | Matt Baldwin |
| New construction coordinator | Amanda Bachman |
| Project manager | Dennis Henley |
| Office manager and warranty specialist | Nicole Caddell |
Licensing on record
The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors lists MB Homes Construction, Inc. at 401 Wait Ave, Wake Forest, with license L.101331. That license is active, unlimited, and classified for building. It was first issued on August 15, 2023 and expires December 31, 2026.
That first-issue date is later than the 2007 founding year. One likely explanation is that the earlier work was done under the Matt Baldwin Homes name or a different entity. Ask MB which entity will sign your contract and which license number will appear on your permit.
Communities where MB Homes Construction builds
MB Homes Construction builds in these communities, based on our team’s own knowledge of the builder’s work. Ask the builder which have homesites open today before you plan around one.
- Wakefield Meadows, Zebulon
- Woodland Park, Franklinton
- The Retreat at Merriweather, Youngsville
Where Does MB Homes Build, and at What Price?
MB Homes builds on its own homesites north and east of Raleigh and will also build on a lot the buyer already owns. The published community list covers four counties and a wide price spread. Two sources give the numbers: MB’s website and MB’s own ad in the 2026 Franklin County Parade of Homes guide. Where they disagree, the table shows both.
| Community | Location | What MB publishes |
|---|---|---|
| Graham Sherron & Woodland Church Road | Wake Forest area, Granville County | Website: 1–3 acre estate lots, up to 8 homesites, homes from $900,000. Parade guide ad: 2 homesites left, 2 homes coming soon, starting at $1.3 million |
| Preserve West (coming 2026) | Wake Forest area, Granville County | Large homesites, custom floor plans, amenities, from the $900,000s |
| Olivia Farms (coming 2028) | Wake Forest area, Granville County | Large estate lots, pricing not yet released |
| Woodland Park | Franklinton, Franklin County | Final 2 opportunities; website says under $600,000, Parade guide says from the $500,000s |
| River Landing (coming 2027) | Franklinton, Franklin County | Listed in the Parade guide ad; no pricing yet |
| Spring Hill Estates | Spring Hope, Nash County | No HOA, multi-acre homesites, from the $500,000s |
| River Dew Phase II | Spring Hope, Nash County | Ranch homes on flat 1-acre homesites, from the $400,000s |
Wake Forest buyers should read the first three rows closely. Granville County lots carry a Wake Forest mailing address but fall under a different county’s taxes, schools, and permitting. Before you fall for the acreage, check the school assignment, well and septic or utility service, and the property tax rate. On Graham Sherron & Woodland Church Road, the gap between $900,000 and $1.3 million is large. Get the current price sheet in writing.
The 2026 Parade home in Youngsville
MB entered 1204 Red Cedar Court in Cedar Knolls, Youngsville, the plan MB calls Stang’s Swang, in the 2026 Parade. It appears as Entry #249 on the Triangle Parade site and in the 2026 Franklin County Parade of Homes guide. The two listings show:
- Price: $1,025,000
- Size: 3,597 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 baths
- Designer: McMillan Design
- Exterior: brownstone-inspired brick
- Layout: first-floor owner’s suite, a private first-floor guest suite with a vaulted ceiling, and a study off the two-story foyer
- Kitchen: oversized island, walk-in pantry, and a separate scullery
- Extras: upstairs recreation room with flex space, walk-in unfinished storage, a rear porch (the Triangle site calls it covered; the Franklin County guide calls it screened), oversized three-car garage
The Parade home shows how far up MB’s range goes. It does not tell you what a $500,000 MB house includes. For that, ask for a specification sheet tied to the community you are actually considering.
What Does MB Homes Build?
MB builds custom and plan-based homes. Buyers can start from one of its plans and change it, choose a home that is already under construction, or design something new. The company’s custom-design page puts it this way: “Love one of our plans? We can customize it!”
There are three ways to buy:
- Available homes. These homes are finished or under construction. MB says a buyer who calls early enough may still be able to change one.
- A plan on an MB homesite. You choose a lot in one of MB’s communities and adjust one of its plans.
- Build on your lot. MB says, “We have homesites, or we can build on yours.”
That flexibility is useful. It also means two buyers in the same community can end up with very different contracts. Plan changes on a presale home should be priced line by line before you sign.
What Warranty Does MB Homes Offer?
MB Homes backs its homes with a 10-year warranty from Quality Builders Warranty (QBW). The company describes the coverage as “backed by Liberty Mutual.” After closing, owners file service requests directly with QBW through an online request system. MB’s office manager handles warranty for the company.
A 10-year structural warranty is not 10 years of coverage on everything. Most third-party plans divide coverage into first-year workmanship, a short systems period, and long-term structural protection. Ask for the actual QBW warranty book before you sign. Read the exclusions. Then compare it with other builders using our home-builder warranty guide.
What Should You Verify Before Signing With MB Homes?
Before signing with MB Homes, check the lot, the line-item price, the contracting entity, and the people who will run your job. A small builder that completes about 30 homes a year can give you close attention. Its schedule can also stall if one supervisor is spread across too many houses.
Lot and jurisdiction
- Which county issues the permit, and which school district serves the lot?
- Is the lot on public water and sewer, or on a well and septic system? If septic, has the system been permitted, and for how many bedrooms?
- On the Granville County estate lots, what do the driveway, clearing, and grading cost, and is any of it included?
- If the plan calls for a basement, what does the soil report show?
Price and allowances
- Which items are fixed price, which are allowances, and which are excluded?
- On a presale or under-construction home, which changes are still possible, and at what markup?
- Does the quoted price include landscaping, gutters, driveway paving, and appliances?
Team and communication
- Will Dennis Henley or another project manager run your job, and how many other homes will that person have at the same time?
- How often will you get updates, and through what system? MB’s site links to a client portal on CoConstruct.
- How are punch-list items tracked between the final walkthrough and the start of the QBW warranty?
Our guides on finding a Triangle builder and the builder’s agent versus your interests cover the questions every builder should answer.
How Does MB Homes Compare With Other Building Options?
MB sits between production builders and full-custom architects. Here is how that changes the work on your end.
| Building model | Plan flexibility | Lot control | Price certainty | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production builder | Low | Builder’s community only | High early | Buyers who want speed and a fixed menu |
| MB-style custom on builder lots | Moderate to high | MB lots or your lot | Moderate; depends on changes | Buyers who want acreage and a modified plan without hiring an architect |
| Full custom with architect | Highest | Your lot | Develops slowly | Buyers with a specific site and a one-off design |
The MB model works best for a family that wants room to breathe, such as an acre in Spring Hope or three acres outside Wake Forest, and is fine starting from a proven plan.
Final Thoughts About MB Homes From Tim Clarke
MB Homes has a founder who learned to build on job sites, almost two decades in business, a listed team, a third-party 10-year warranty, and a 2026 Parade entry at $1,025,000. That earns MB a place on the list for buyers looking north of Wake Forest.
The acreage is the draw. It is also where budgets go wrong. A one-acre lot in Nash County and a three-acre lot in Granville County come with different septic rules, school assignments, tax rates, and site-work bills. The house price covers only part of what you will spend.
I’ve been in Triangle real estate for 17+ years, and our team builds as well as sells. We read builder contracts the way builders write them. Bring us the MB lot you’re considering, the plan, the specification sheet, and the proposed contract. We’ll price the site work, check the allowances against the finishes you actually want, and tell you what is missing before you put down a deposit.
Call us at (919) 355-8462 to walk an MB homesite with us or to get a second opinion on an MB proposal.
Sources
- https://mbhomesnc.com/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/about-us/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/matt-baldwin/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/custom-design/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/communities/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/available-homes/
- https://mbhomesnc.com/warranty/
- https://www.triangleparade.com/projects/1204-red-cedar-court
- https://www.triangleparade.com/companies/mbhomesnc
- 2026 Franklin County Parade of Homes guide (Franklin County HBA, franklincountyhba.com), pages 22–23: https://image.isu.pub/260930152458-d562becbcd95400feb6c00af26bc05b5/jpg/page_22.jpg and https://image.isu.pub/260930152458-d562becbcd95400feb6c00af26bc05b5/jpg/page_23.jpg
- https://portal.nclbgc.org/Public/Search (license L.101331, MB Homes Construction, Inc; checked 2026-10-12)
- Tim M. Clarke Team field knowledge, October 2026 (community list confirmed by Tim M. Clarke)
