Buying vs. Building - Price difference?

[ShelbyMay]

Is building a house a lot more expensive than buying an existing home?

[LeslieR]

I would think it depends a lot on where you live and how much land is going for in your area. We looked into building last Summer. Land here is very expensive. While we might have been able to afford the house itself, the cost of the land, clearing the land, etc. would have put us way over what we could afford. There are existing developments going up where we would not have had to purchase our own land to build on, but the developments in the town we live in have houses going for even more than what we would have likely spent building on our own land. There were affordable options in developments in other towns, but we want to stay where we are. Weighing a brand new house with all the options of our choosing over an old house in our current town was difficult, but ultimately we found something perfect for us that we know we can make our own. HTH!

[jennylou]

It depends what kind of house you want. A cousin and her DH looked for a while at pre-existing homes. They ultimately decided to build b/c they couldn't find something that had exactly what they wanted. They would have had to spend more to redo an older house into what they wanted. HTH.

[ManteoChik]

I agree it all depends.

We're in the process of house hunting/maybe buildling. In our area, land is expensive, building costs are expensive, and pre exisiting homes are expenseive...lol. After we looked at a couple of pre existing homes we are leaning more towards building. Sure, we might spend more money but at least we are getting what we want. It just seems ridiculous to me to buy something that is way overpriced and then want to change everything in it, also chances are the home would be older than we'd like and thats about the time things start to break.

On the other hand, if you live in an area with plenty of new construction things would be different. For us, on the coast of NC it just doesn't make sense to buy a pre exisiting home. But for my friends that live farther in NC (near Raleigh) buying something pre existing is great because there are sooooo many affordable new constructions.

[BTB]

Generally speaking, I think it is more expensive to build than buy. When you build, you're responsible for all sorts of one-time charges that houses incur. The municipality puts in sidewalks, for example, and then charges the homeowner for the number of squares placed in front of your property. Curbs are the same way. When the storm sewer is extended, you have to pay for your portion of that too (sanitary sewers are usually in already). There's a good number of hidden costs you may not even realize you're responsible for until you get the bill.

[Wrighty26]

When we built our house (we closed almost a year ago), it was MUCH cheaper to build than buy. We did have to be patient and find a lot during an insane housing boom, but our house would have cost us at least $60k more if we had bought a resale home.

Now I think it's pretty even - the market has slowed here, but it's not dead. There are a lot of perks offered to build - which in some ways makes me wish we had waited a year, but with everything else going on I'm truly happy we built when we did. There are so many pluses! Our house is still appraised for being worth way more than we bought it for - and we have a great lot (for Orlando). I got to pick out my floor plan (which is how we decided our builder), and upgrades. I really do love our house -- it's such a great home!

[~queen~]

I think in general the prices may be around the same, but you have to keep in mind that you will pay more for 1: Location, 2: Size and 3: Amenities.

When you purchase a resale, those are all built in. In building a new home, you can control those factors so they can either raise or lower your price.

For example, in my development to live on a house that backed to woods and would never have anyone behind it, you would have to pay $20k to $30k in a lot premium - that is above and beyond the base price and any extras you decide. They may never recoup the cost, but I'm sure it will help alot with resale.

Also, keep in mind the market conditions. Builders are generally quick to read the market and make the adjustments to keep sales moving more so that an emotional homeowner who wants to get xx price.

[justHB]

I just read an article that said in the Sacramento area it's MUCH cheaper to buy a brand new house that has not been occupied than a resale due to an inflated inventory of new construction.

[Oakley]

I say it depends. I've bought two houses and built a third. When we built, we wanted to put in really nice upgrades, thinking- might as well do it now because we are not handy people. :) So, if you are going to add in a ton of upgrades, it might end up being more expensive.