About Drake Homes

At Drake Homes, we realize that your dream isn’t to build a house, it is to build a home. That’s why we treat every home we build, as if it is our own.

With more than 20 years of experience in the Iowa home building industry, we are focused on not only building you a home that meets your unique needs, but to also provide a fun home building process. Our award-winning team provides home and lot design ideas, as well as, affordable options that are catered to families all around Des Moines.

Our Story

Since 2005, Drake Homes has collaborated with home buyers who expect the very best in new home construction. As an elite Des Moines home builder, our dedicated team is committed to bringing your home building ideas to life.

As a boutique builder, we’re building around 40 new homes each year, but our goal will never be to become the largest Des Moines home builder. Instead, our brand vision is to provide an enjoyable home building experience that results in amazing, affordable and long-lasting homes for families all around the Des Moines Metro Area.

When you build with Drake Homes, expect the very best. We partner with you to consider your ideas and provide effective strategies to maximize your investment. Our experienced staff will ensure that your home building process is done professionally, but we also like to have fun! We understand that communication makes any process smoother, so our entire team is dedicated to making sure you know what’s happening at all stages of development. Our polished process is efficient and detail-oriented, which gives our customers the confidence that their new home will be done on time and within budget.

Together, we’ll build you a home to love for life!

Our Team of Experts

Drake Homes has a lean, outstanding team that wants the very best for every one of our clients. Here are the leaders of our team and the folks you’ll work with directly, throughout your new home building project.

TODD DRAKE

President

Todd Drake established Drake Homes and has lead the company since 2005. He is detail-oriented, only accepts the best and has built his entire career within the construction industry. Todd’s experience and industry connectivity fuels our ability to build amazing new homes that fit your modern lifestyle. Todd is an expert on hearing all ideas, then finding creative ways to evolve them into reality on any budget. Todd’s leadership guarantees our homes are the best and exactly what you want.

CHRISTY DRAKE

Vice President & Realtor

Christy Drake has worked in residential real estate for 31 years! As an industry leader, Christy works hard to cater your new home for you and your family. Christy can quickly sell your existing home, which you’ll appreciate as you’re moving into an all-new home built by Drake Homes. Whether it’s securing details to make your new home amazing or simply making the process more enjoyable, Christy’s positive attitude is infectious and her expertise allows us to bring your ideas to life.

CHRIS BALKEN

Senior Project Manager

Chris is a Wisconsin native with a lifetime of experience in residential construction – over 30 years, in fact! He and his family made the move from the Badger state to Central Iowa almost seven years ago and has been on on our team pretty much the whole time he’s lived here.  One of Chris’s favorite parts of home building is satisfaction of seeing the project from hole in the ground to completion and the reaction of the buyers.  Chris and his wife, Arita, live in Norwalk and together have a daughter (Alex) and son (Aaron). Alex and her husband have a daughter, Grace, which means Chris is a grandpa! It’s one of his favorite titles in life, in fact! He loves spending time with his granddaughter and playing cards with his family.

ERNESTO MARTINEZ

Project Manager

Ernesto joins our team with over 25 years of home building experience, having first come to the Des Moines area 8 years ago. When asked what he loves about the home building process is the process itself. Seeing a concept, or a plan, become reality is what excites him about his job. In addition to his experience in the trades, Ernesto is bilingual, speaking both English and Spanish. Outside of work, he loves to go on bike rides and spend time outdoors. Most of all, he loves spending time with daughters Emily & Jocelyn.

LOGAN BRYANT

Assistant Project Manager

Logan has lived in the Des Moines area his whole life. He’s been in the construction and real estate industries for much of his working life, too, having started in 8th grade painting his parents’ rental properties. He then moved into a property management role (which involved renovating / remodeling homes and selling them) and home building after that. Logan is also a licensed real estate agent, which adds an additional layer of knowledge and expertise about real estate in his role. Outside of work, Logan loves golfing, biking, working on home projects and going to Iowa State games. Most importantly, Logan loves spending time with this wife (Kate) and their daughter (Nora). They’re excited for the arrival of their second child, due September 17th!

ANDREW SPRINGER

Marketing Director & Realtor

Andrew Springer has been a real estate agent for six years – having been recognized as one of Des Moines Register’s Metro’s Best two years in a row (2022 and 2023) – and has been our Marketing Director for almost three years. Prior to getting started in real estate, Andrew worked for an ad agency in West Des Moines. He and his brother, Tyler Springer, comprise the Springer Brothers Real Estate Team with RE/MAX Precision. Andrew lives in Clive with his wife, Jessie, and together they have three kids (Ryder, Maleigh and Maisie).

What Our Customers Say

“When we moved to Des Moines, our realtor said that Drake Homes was the best. The team at Drake Homes seemed very interested in our perceptive and the outcome of our home building project. It’s obvious they wanted to do something special here and together, we built the home of our dreams. If you’re considering your home building options anywhere in Des Moines, I would definitely talk with Drake Homes.”

Will & Jane