By: Brandon Cleveland – New Home Sales Agent
Sitting here in my new home sales office day in and day out, I meet a lot of folks who are comparing new AND used homes for purchase…and while I understand the birds-eye appeal of all the ‘bargain’ used homes in this current market; I often wonder how much consideration is being given to life in a used home beyond the attractive price tag.
I know many homebuyers and industry professionals are already aware of the potential pitfalls associated with a ‘bargain’ used home purchase so I’m not going to talk about that in this post. Likewise I figure most folks, at some point, have heard of all the benefits of buying ‘new’ vs ‘used’…warranties, more choices, etc… so I don’t want to talk about that either.
But what about life after the home purchase? How many homebuyers really understand the substantial cost-of-ownership savings a New Home is capable of providing over the average used home on the market today?? Let’s consider the following side-by-side comparison of a New Home versus a “used” home:
THIS is the sort of comparison a typical homebuyer is making when they come through my doors. They want the NEW home of course…who wants something that is ‘used’ when they could have something that is brand new? They are just trying to wrap their head around the idea of spending an extra $170 per month when there is a less expensive option on the table.
But what about life after the home purchase? The fruit of a New Home is in the ongoing cost of ownership…things like maintenance & repair costs as well as monthly utility expenses. Most ‘experts’ say that typical maintenance/repair costs average out to anywhere from 2% – 4% of the purchase price annually. Whether or not a homeowner budgets & saves for those ongoing expenses, the cost is real and should be accounted for one way or another. The basic energy costs (lighting, heating, electrical, cooling) is another ongoing expense that isn’t going anywhere and absolutely needs to be taken into consideration. The local electric utility in this area has experienced a 5% average rate increase over the past 20 years . . . which means the longer a homeowner lives in a New Home, the more they will save.
A bargain-priced ‘used’ home may look like a good deal, but looks can be deceiving. Think about life after the home purchase… As illustrated above, a New Home can be less expensive to own thanks to the advanced energy-efficient features that are included!
…could a New Home really cost LESS than a ‘used’ home? Absolutely!
Brandon Cleveland is a new home sales agent for Meritage Homes in Phoenix, Arizona. You can read more from Brandon on his blog, “Going ‘Green’ In Gilbert“.
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