The Pros and Cons of Building a New Home

Many of my buying clients have opted to build a new home rather than go for an older home.

You can find the land yourself and hire a builder, or you can select a lot in a development and build there!

The advantages of this are:

  1. You get to select your ideal floor plan and location.
  2. No improvements needed for many years! You can enjoy the modern, up-to-date home for a long time.
  3. Warranties! The builder and appliance manufacturers warrant their products for varying amounts of time. Every thing is new!
  4. New neighbors! Typically, new neighborhoods are very friendly and it’s easy to make new friends.

BUT, here are the disadvantages:

  1. Expense. New homes are sold at a big premium. My estimate is a new home is 30% more than an existing home of the same size.
  2. Time consuming. The construction timelines can be very long, especially with current shortages of supplies. One builder I know is 14 months from contract to keys.
  3. Decisions. There are myriad decisions to make when building. Many buyers get lost in the zillion choices available.
  4. The “myth” of the forever home. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone went through the time and expense of building their “forever home” and ended up needing to sell and move within a year or two. Some lose money when they have to sell within the first five years.

All in all, new home construction is popular with many of my clients. If you are looking for the best deal, you might want to stick with an older home that has been well-maintained. But many people I know have only lived in homes they built for themselves.

It’s good to have options!

David Baker, MBA, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, SFR

Broker/Owner, Baker Realty Group

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