It seems like everyone wants to buy a home. Problem is, there are so few homes on the market. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the U.S. faces an “acute” shortage of available housing. That is challenging homebuyers across the country. Should you buy a home that is under construction? Should you consider pre-buying something that a builder already has in process? It’s certainly an idea to consider, right?
Fueled by low interest rates and pent-up demand, buyers are encountering a tight home supply, soaring prices and listings that come and go in a whirlwind. Realtors are seeing 20 to 30 offers come in for the same property and many over asking price. Buyers are falling in love with a home they want to buy and then losing it to another buyer. In response to market conditions, builders are starting construction on new properties so they can give buyers something to snap up. If buyers move soon enough, they may be able to make some customizations to the home that the builder has in process – like kitchen style, layout of rooms, add a deck, choose flooring, cabinetry and more.
How New Construction Differs From Resale Homes
Buying a new construction home differs from a traditional home in many ways. Among the most obvious and potentially unnerving: you’re plunking down money on a place that you can’t see yet.
Benefits Of New Construction
The biggest benefit of new construction: You get a brand-new home. And at the same time, you can save the time of shuttling from pre-existing home showing to pre-existing home showing looking for the ideal residence — and mitigate the potential disappointment of being continually outbid on your dream home in this brutal buyers market.
In competitive markets or at a popular, master-planned community, you may not be able to find a good homesite that’s available. Builders tend to buy up lots in popular communities to build on, they prep the site and start building. If you’re lucky enough and like the design that the builder is putting up, you might be in a great position to purchase a home that isn’t quite finished with potential to be the PERFECT home for you and your family when it’s complete.
Potential Pitfalls Of Pre-buying New Construction
As with any new purchase, troubles can arise. There are potential delays if certain materials become hard to come by, which is unfortunately something that has been occurring since the pandemic. If you don’t work with a good builder, the odds of problems cropping up increase substantially. If you’re tempted to make upgrades to the home prior to completion, you might end up outside of your budget. It is easy to get excited about all of the things your new home could have and not realize just how much it will cost in the end.
How To Be Prepared To Buy A Home That Is Under Construction
Early homework will pay off. Maintain open communication with your builder. Once the home is complete, get a rigorous home inspection and final walkthrough and make a punch list for anything that needs to be addressed. At settlement, put a significant amount of money into escrow until that list gets finished.
Should you decide to buy a home that is under construction, we hope that these tips helped you. Lady Street Builders currently has two homes under construction that can be pre-purchased. One is located in the prestigious Arcadia Lakes Neighborhood and the other is on a spacious homesite in Lugoff.
It is the mission of our business to listen to our clients, build their vision and exceed their expectations. Clear, consistent and ongoing communication is the most important tool we have to create the comfort level our clients deserve — throughout the entire homebuilding process. We are here to realize your dreams, within your budget and timeline. Our clients can count on us to be there from the initial groundbreaking to the very last lick of paint. If you’d like to speak with Tony about building your own custom home, call on Lady Street Builders. We have a terrific array of cape cod plans to inspire you, we could build from your existing plans, or we can build your home from the bottom up. Contact us today.