Building vs Buying Your First Home | Pros and Cons
If you want to own a new home, then you have two options: you can buy a home, or you can build a brand new one. Both of these methods for obtaining a new home are good choices. However, while both have pros, there are also a few cons associated with each option. Here is a closer look at the pros and cons of building a brand new home and of buying a home.
Pros of Building a Home
Customization
One of the best pros of building your own home is that you will be able to customize your home to your needs. For example, if you would really like your home to have a deck with multiple levels, you can have the builders build you a home with this feature. If you would like to have three fireplaces, then you can have the builders include 3 fire places when they build the home.
Energy Efficiency
Many newly built homes are significantly more efficient than homes built years or even decades in the past. This is due to improvements in both insulation and HVAC. In fact, if your newly made home is 30 percent larger than an older home, then it will consume roughly the same amount of energy. This means that newer homes are roughly 30 percent more energy efficient than older homes.
Cons of Building a Home
Less Convenient
If you are going to build your own home, then you will have to first find the land, then go through the process of buying the land. Then you will have to find an architect, then find a builder. The whole building will have to be built, powerlines will have to be set up, etc. This can all take a while.
More Expensive
It can be significantly more expensive to build a home than to buy one. In fact, it costs an average of $66,415 more to build a single family home than to buy one that has already been constructed.
Pros of Buying a home
More Convenient
Buying a home is more convenient in many cases because you do not have to find a plot of land, and deal with the other difficulties of building a home. You can simply hire a real estate agent, take some tours of properties, and choose your home. It is a much faster process.
Cheaper
As mentioned above, it costs roughly $66,415 less on average to buy a single family home than to build it. For most families in America, this is extremely significant, and represents a large amount of money.
Cons of Buying a Home
No Customization
If you buy a pre-constructed home, then you will not be able to put your say in about the design. For many people, this is a very important downside of buying a home. This is because having a custom design can be very appealing to people who are thinking about obtaining a new home.
Less Energy Efficient
If you buy a pre-constructed home, then unless it was built in the last few years, you will be unlikely to benefit from the breakthroughs in insulation and energy efficiency that have happened in recent years. This means that you will almost certainly end up paying more in energy costs while you live in the home. This is especially true if the home is older than twenty years.
Essentially, there are both great benefits as well as a few cons to both buying a home and to building a brand new one. So, which option is best for you really depends on what your priorities are. If you want to customize your home and save on energy costs, then building a home many be better. If you want to save money on the home purchase, and get your home quicker, then buying an existing one may be better. It’s up to you!