Why MorningStar
Your Triangle-area Custom Homebuilders
MorningStar Homes is a homebuilder in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill specializing in full custom and semi-custom homes that meet the needs of our customers. With the ability to do everything from full design/build to construction of a pre-designed plan, MorningStar has the right solution for your upcoming homebuilding project! Now also building and remodeling in Emerald Isle! Contact us today to discuss your beach project.

Five Reasons To Choose MorningStar
Our past clients tell us that when they were in the bidding process for a new home in Raleigh, Chapel Hill or Durham, our estimates were almost always in the middle. Never too high. Never too low. Our clients also tell us that when their new home was done, they felt they got the most home for the money…by far the best value in a new custom home! But don’t take our word for it! Hear it from our clients in their own words! See our client testimonials.
MorningStar Homes brings a wealth of construction knowledge and experience to the equation, giving you a new home in Raleigh, Durham or Chapel Hill that meets the highest standards. We work hard to stay abreast of current technology as well as new and innovative building practices and materials that can enhance our homes.
What does this mean for you? With MorningStar, you get a homebuilder who:
- is on top of the latest technology in homebuilding
- doesn’t just build homes, but understands home design
- builds homes that are energy efficient and environmentally friendly
- is EnergyStar certified
- is a certified Green Professional
- can incorporate “aging in place” design features
- has extensive experience with difficult lot and soil conditions
- is fully licensed
- is financially sound
We’ve been building new homes in Raleigh and surrounding local markets for more than 25 years. We know the market here in the Triangle, we know the players and we know the ropes. We live here, we have roots here and we’re here to stay. In many ways, we have a personal investment in this market that some other builders of new homes in Raleigh and the surrounding area may not have.
This also means we have an established trade base in and around the Triangle. We work extensively with the local trade base, and over the years, we have have developed a group of experienced trade contractors that build our new homes in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill the way we want, not the way they want.
We are knowledgeable about tough lot or site conditions. We have many of these lots under our belts and feel confident that we can get your home built correctly under these challenging conditions.
We pay attention to lot/site details, such as wells, septic systems, supply line size, pressure tanks, as well as sediment filtration.
We have more than 20 years’ experience building on “scattered lots” (lots or homesites not located in a structured neighborhood). This means we understand the unique challenges of building on scattered lots, from lot and site conditions, to surveying and zoning to finding trades that will travel to a “scattered lot” and figuring out how to get power to the home.
We offer an interior design service with each home. Now that Barbara Lile has joined Morningstar Homes (licensed professional designer) she can assist you with the color and option selection process.
The MorningStar Homes Difference
What sets MorningStar Homes apart from the competition? We pride ourselves on truly trying to listen to our clients and develop a great relationship with them so that the building experience is less of a stress on them. We believe that with our attention to your needs, our relationship with our Interior Designer and a complement of experienced sub contractors…we offer the best overall value in a new custom home.
We’re also not a high volume production manufacturer of homes, and we pride ourselves on our working relationships with our customers. We spend a considerable amount of time prior to construction getting to know our customers, their needs and their wants, while turning their dream homes into reality.
We also pride ourselves on staying current with our local certifications and performance standards in addition to national standards. We have been a member of the North Carolina Building Performance Association since the beginning, which is an association dedicated to ensuring high building standards within the state of North Carolina. You can read more about the NCBPA at http://buildingnc.org/. We are also members of Southern Energy Management’s ecoSelect certification program and Duke Energy Progress’ Hero Plus Program. See more about these programs on our Energy Efficient Homes page.
History with Purpose
In 1998, Steve Jellicorse founded a small homebuilding company in Raleigh, N.C., based on the premise of building excellence through knowledge and experience. That company was known as MorningStar Builders. In 2005, a decision was made to take this company to the next level by welcoming a peer homebuilder, John Lile. With this new partnership came a new name, MorningStar Homes, Inc., to reflect the birth of this new entity, as well as a new product line.
Since then, we’ve grown into award-winning custom homebuilders with a proven track record of beautiful homes and satisfied customers. As we continue to grow we saw Steve decide to retire from homebuilding in 2013. In 2017 Justin Lile returned to Morningstar and as President is working to take us to the next level.