As a Boot Ranch preferred builder, Mabery Contracting delivers luxury homes in stunning communities
When we last spoke with Matthew Mabery, President of luxury homebuilder Mabery Contracting (Mabery), in 2025, Matthew gave us an overview of an 18-month period in which Mabery finished seven homes and began work on an additional eight projects. Specializing in luxury homes in the idyllic Texas community of Boot Ranch, every project is approached with an equal commitment to detail and care, ensuring each home exceeds its owners’ expectations. This unwavering standard has secured Mabery’s reputation as a Boot Ranch preferred builder, and the company remains committed to building homes that reflect the life and style of the families who inhabit them.
Central to Mabery’s success is the guidance and leadership of its founder. With more than 29 years of industry experience, 26 of which as owner and operator, Matthew brings unparalleled expertise to the business. Drawn to the construction industry, Matthew began framing, later becoming an independent contractor in 1995, building custom and spec homes. Introduced to a Boot Ranch landowner in 2006, Matthew has since made this community his specialty. Today, of the 160 homes built in Boot Ranch to date, Mabery is responsible for over one third of them.
Spec home perspective
With Mabery’s operations shifting direction for 2026, we’re keen to speak with Matthew about the real estate market, Mabery’s current projects, and what’s next for the business. “Over the last 12 months, custom work has slowed down, but we’ve committed ourselves to more spec homes instead,” Matthew be-gins. “Spec houses are particularly fun and rewarding for our team, as we get to make all the decisions and see the project evolve in front of our eyes. It’s less like building a home and more like creating art.”
Impressive projects
In our last conversation, Matthew discussed Mabery’s ongoing work at lot 519, which is the largest home in Boot Ranch. “519 is now complete,” he says. “At just over 25,000 square feet, this home is more than double the size of our typical builds. Its key features began with geothermal heating, comprising 16 wells of 350-foot depth. This was a huge undertaking for us, especially considering our Texas location, as it’s not something that is done very often.
“Other key characteristics are a glass elevator, a very high-level control system from Josh AI, a large custom in-home theatre for 12 people, and lots of fire and water pieces, including ten indoor fireplaces and ten outdoor fire features. The home also includes two 20,000-gallon water catchment tanks and a purification system to support this as the home’s main water source. Although this was a particularly large and very detailed home, we completed the project in 24 months despite numerous late-stage design changes.”
Turning to another recent project, Matthew highlights a smaller, faster build in the same community. “We recently completed a home in just ten months, which is extremely quick considering the amount of work needed on the front end and the landscaping required at the back,” he says. “The home’s smaller size, along with a fantastic owner and designers, meant we could complete it very quickly. At the end of the project, we actually sent a large credit to the client due to the time and cost savings achieved throughout the project.
“To protect the future of Mabery, we’re making some big investments in land,” Matthew adds. “We al-ready own six estate lots in our Boot Ranch development, which will secure work for our entire team until we see the next spike in custom homes.”
As Matthew explained earlier, most of Mabery’s ongoing projects are spec homes, as the business has pivoted in response to declining demand for custom homes. This reflects broader trends in the Texas luxury home market, with many buyers facing rising interest rates and extended decision timelines. However, Matthew’s early experience in building spec homes allowed a natural shift for Mabery, providing an opportunity for the business to maintain momentum and demonstrate capabilities to attract potential custom clients once market confidence returns.
“We’re working on two amazing spec homes, but we have four more in the design phase,” Matthew reveals. “We enjoy working on spec homes, and we typically don’t put them up for sale until we are complete or nearly complete. Spec homes allow us to try new products, push creative boundaries, broaden our capabilities, and showcase emerging trends or technologies. For instance, we’re currently finishing a spec home with a steel exterior post and horizontal beams for all the porches, which bring key benefits in that homeowners never have to repaint them or worry about them moving or sagging.”
Future plans
While Mabery’s homes are built with each family in mind, the business also embraces the wider community and is committed to having a positive impact on its local surroundings. As residents of the Boot Ranch community themselves, the Mabery family are passionate about the area in which they live and work. “We love to give back,” Matthew confirms. “We’ve recently played a big part in sponsoring and fundraising for the construction of a new, privately funded soccer complex in Fredericksburg. On an annual basis, we sup-port the local fire department and a no-cost women’s health clinic with significant volunteering hours. Personally, I am also currently sitting on a board supporting a bond election for a new high school in the region.”
Mabery’s approach to quality and detail, combined with Matthew’s hands-on leadership, is the strong foundation behind the company’s continued success. As our conversation closes, we ask Matthew about his priorities for the future. “For the balance of 2026, we plan to maintain our focus on quality, atten-tion-to-detail, and superior service,” Matthew concludes. “We look forward to enjoying the completion of our latest spec home, which we anticipate will be at the end of April, as well as meeting new clients and establishing projects for 2027 and beyond.”