Simply put the investment you make when buying or building a home is going to typically be the largest investment you will ever make in your life. So, it makes sense that there is a lot of stress, worry and research surrounding every aspect of investing in a home.
There is plenty of homework to be done by home buyers, such as looking into the location of a home, studying market trends, analysing prices, comparing taxes, and much more all in the pursuit of making sure you have found the perfect place to call home. However, all hunts for a home eventually hit one major question: Do you shop for an existing house on the market, or do you invest in building a custom house from the ground up? What’s better: buying or building a home?
Build vs. Buy
A lot of people are wondering if it is cheaper to buy an existing home rather than build a custom house from the ground up, while others prefer to think about the situation as “is it better to build a new home over buying an existing one?
No matter how you frame the question, it is a valid thought process to have while you are on the hunt for a new home. While there are advantages and disadvantages to both building a home and buying an existing one, it is vital that you look inwards at your lifestyle and your goals in order to decide which of these paths is best for you and your goals.
It is true that buying an existing home is a lot quicker than building one from the ground up, the process of building a new home gives you near endless possibilities for customization. So, how do you go about deciding which of these processes is best for you? Here is a quick economic breakdown of the two options!
Downsides of Buying a Home
On the downside of buying an existing home, these houses can come with some unforeseen repair costs that can pile up – even if you did have a home inspection done. And if you are going to want to do any remodeling in order to turn your purchased house into your dream home, you are looking at about $46,000 on average in extra costs.
The median price of an existing home right now is about $260,500 (a consistent increase since 2017.) However, this does not mean that is the final cost of buying an existing home. There are fees that a lot of people forget about, such as closing costs, appraisal fees, credit report fees, lawyer costs, and insurance to name a few.
Building Your Own Home
While the idea of building a custom home may seem out of reach for a lot of people, this is actually a great option if you are looking to add a lot of customization to your home while keeping within the boundaries of your budget. The average cost of building your own home is highly impacted by location, size and customization meaning it can range anywhere from $150,000 to $450,000.
In order to keep things within your budget, it is good to hire a home builder who understands your lifestyle and needs for the present as well as the future. Well-trained builders can also help you make energy-efficient decisions when building your home, which can end up saving you money over the years alongside improving the impact your home will have on the environment, something that would cost a lot more to change out in an existing home.
The major downside to building your own home is how long it can take. The average timeframe for a custom built home is about 6.5 months.
The Bottom Line
If you have the time, building your own custom home will yield much better results than buying an existing home. The custom home process gives you complete control over all aspects of the home, and the bottom line prices come out to be similar to buying a used home anyways! Contact us for more custom home building information!