With the pinch created by few resale homes on the market, New Home Builders are seeing their sales rise. Here are some crazy stats:
- New home closings this January increased 56.0% from Jan 2012. In December 2012 the # of new home closing already increased by 21.6% from Dec 2012.
- In 2012, there were 4,486 new homes sold. This is compared to 4,369 for 2011.
- Almost 9% of all home sales in January 2013 were new homes (326). This same # in 2012 was 6.5%
Benefits of buying a new home:
- It’s new duh 🙂 – Sometimes it’s just nice to get something that is brand new. Smells new. Feels new. Etc.
- Warranty – (often 10 year structural, 1 year on all the little stuff, and somewhere in-between for mechanical systems)
- Customizeable – often you can choose your floor plan, lot, features, and finishes
- Modern/Practical Floorplans – new floorplans are often more practical and usable for today’s living. Such as more open floor plans, modern finishes, smart use of space, mud rooms, etc.
Downside to Buying A New Home
- Landscaping – you have to landscape the backyard (and sometimes the whole yard) including a fence etc. This can be costly and it takes time for it to mature.
- Window treatments – Unless you want to scare your neighbors, the first thing you will need to do is get some window treatments ordered/installed! This can be costly too.
- Construction Traffic – unless you are the LAST house to be built, there will be construction going on outside your house for some time. This can be annoying, dirty, etc.
- Little Things – Remember, you’re the first to live there. New homes often don’t come with A/C, Refrigerators, dimmer switches, fireplace blowers, ceiling fans, custom paint colors, etc. Your “to do” list will be quite long in a new home and will take time (and $$).
If after reading this you are considering buying a new home in 2013…
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