When weighing buying a new home vs. a resale property, examine your needs | Home Front
The spring Sarasota real estate market is in full swing. Because weather is so favorable in early spring, it is a very active time for real estate in Florida.
With the activity level and the temperatures heating up, the timeless question comes into play. Should you buy a new or a resale home? The answer is not going to be the same for every family.
New homes have many advantages: modern floorplans, more energy-efficient, the ability to semi-customize, better hurricane resiliency due to stricter Florida building codes, absence of bidding wars. Many now also have built-in/Smart Home technology. On the flip side, a newly built home will often be more expensive than a comparable resale home. A moving delay will also be in play because very little standing new home inventory is available in the Sarasota/Manatee region. So you would be purchasing a pre-sale or home partially under construction. You may not be able to close and move into your new home for four to 12 months. Completion dates also sometimes slip. This can add anywhere from a couple weeks to a few months to your closing date.
New homes are in demand. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, new home sales were up 7.2% in January. In the South, new home sales were up considerably, at 17.1%. The Southern region was actually the only U.S. region that experienced growth, carrying the other regions that reported small declines.
Builder incentives could also be in play for new construction. The recent Housing Market Index reports that 57% of builders nationwide are using incentives to attract buyers. These could be for things like mortgage rate buy-downs, paying points for buyers or closing costs. While builder incentives are not as prevalent in the Sarasota real estate market, they do happen. For instance, a builder may offer an incentive to close out one phase of a community’s construction and begin the next phase or when marketing a community’s final new home opportunities.
Turning to resale homes, your pros here include lower priced options, closing and moving much sooner, and moving to established neighborhoods that will not have ongoing construction for several more months. Cons include more maintenance and repairs being needed, potential competition from other home buyers, and having outdated features in areas like floorplans, colors, or appliances.
Inventory for existing single-family homes for sale continues to be an issue. Florida Realtors, the statewide association of real estate agents, reported new listings were down 4.8% statewide in January compared to a year ago. The level of resale homes on the market is still below normal, which is causing a challenge in some resale price points.
If you have the flexibility and patience to wait for new construction, this could be an excellent option for you. However, if you have a lease expiring or other issues where you need to be relocated and fully moved in a matter of weeks, a resale purchase would be the more attractive choice.
Regardless of which option you choose for your family, it’s often a better option than renting. Just be sure to do your due diligence before purchasing. Consider having an appraisal done, research builders, and utilize a licensed real estate professional. An agent can help you navigate the complicated process of finding the right property for your needs, contracts, negotiations, construction delays and more.
Duff Rubin is president of Coldwell Banker Realty in Florida.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: DUFF RUBIN: Timeless question: Should you buy a new or a resale home?
