The Pros and Cons of Buying a New Construction Home
When you’re looking to purchase a new home, you’re faced with so many options. Even after you’ve narrowed down your choices to the neighborhoods you like, you’re still confronted with different home styles to consider. To help, this article examines the pros and cons of buying a new construction home.
There are many positives related to buying a new construction home. The obvious one is that you will be the very first person to live in that home. You’re not getting a “used” house. This means you’ll be moving into a house that is like a pristine, blank canvas. You don’t have to hang your photographs in a certain place on the wall to cover the previous owner’s nail holes. You don’t have to scrub away the old water stains or oven crud to feel settled in
Another appealing factor in buying a new home? You often get the opportunity to customize the home to suit your tastes. There may be certain parameters you need to follow (at least as far as the exterior) to keep your home consistent with others in the neighborhood. Still, you can have a voice in everything in the construction process.
You’ll typically have more leeway on the interior. For example, you may get to decide whether you want the owner’s suite to be upstairs or downstairs. Or whether you want the laundry room on the ground floor or not. Still, and here we’re anticipating a possible stumbling block, the options may be limited to particular options. Looking on the bright side, though, this can make your life a lot easier, especially if you’re not a home design pro. Instead of pouring over hundreds of different type of tile, you’ll only have to pick the one you like from options pre-selected by the pros.
You can also expect your new home to be more energy-efficient than an older home. Quite simply, there are newer building materials available, better insulation, and builders know much more about sustainable choices they can make for your project. This isn’t just a feel-good benefit; it can also help reduce your monthly utility expenses.
Cost is the first possible con. The average cost to build a single-family, 2,600 square foot, home with mid-grade materials, garage, and deck is $423,800. On the flip side, the median listing price nationally was $340,000 at the end of 2020. This also impacts your property taxes. You’ll pay more tax on the more expensive home.
However, you may need to spend some of that “savings” on repairs and renovations at the older home. Plus, you can often make choices in terms of customizations you add to your new home to control costs. Additionally, home insurance is typically less expensive on a new construction home.
After all, there could be hidden costs at the prebuilt home. You’ll likely get a home inspection as part of the negotiations. But, a year down the road you could find out you need to replace the water heater. Or the decades-old pipes under the house get clogged and you have to deal with plumbers for weeks on end!
We mentioned negotiations just now. That’s another aspect of buying a new home that might put some homebuyers off. Since the home is being built for you, you’re not in the same position to bargain as you are with a previous homeowner. Of course, this is actually a pro for the people who hate the back and forth that can be part of the process of buying a previously owned listing.
Also, depending on your build’s progress, you may need to wait to move in. Building a home from scratch is obviously going to take longer than the typical 30- or 60-day close on an already constructed home. Yet, the benefit remains that you can make choices about how the home is built (from the studs up) when you have the patience to buy a new construction home.
Another potential pitfall? Not all home builders are going to provide you with the same quality craftsmanship. Still, you can avoid buyer’s remorse in this area by doing your research. Look beyond the glossy sales brochure:
When you partner with a quality home builder to buy a new construction home, you’ll gain greater control over the home’s style and floorplan. Plus, you’ll benefit from investing in a home that will appreciate faster as more people want newer homes.
Saussy Burbank has been building distinctive neighborhoods throughout the Carolinas since 1989. From foundation to fixtures, our commitment to style and detail sets us apart. We build everything including affordable housing, upscale custom infill homes, and award-winning neighborhood developments. Our home designs reflect the rich architectural heritage of the modern cities our buyers call home.
