[onewhippedpuppy]

The worst thing about building a cookie cutter house within a development is that when you start making major changes (i.e. truss spans, barn trusses for a higher ceiling) you get expensive fast. These builders have the common upgrades itemized, when you move beyond the norm you'll have to pay dearly. That said, anything you want will be cheaper to add during the construction phase, including the future provisions for adding HVAC zones, wiring, even the backyard garage. All the HVAC and electrical stuff will be through the independent contractors, but most likely the general contractor will have a price list for adding common items such as extra 220 circuits.

While I totally agree with Sarc about the current state of US housing, you do have the right idea with buying a house on the cheap side of the development, just so the area is maintained well when it comes time to sell, the more expensive surrounding houses will help pull up your value, as well as make yours look like a bargain. As far as the upgrades go, get prices for EVERYTHING before you start the process, if anything sounds fishy, call around locally to price stuff for comparison's sake.