Designing Your Dreams: 5 Reasons to Build a Home Instead of Buying

In 2017, the total number of existing homes sold in the U.S. reached a whopping 5.51 million. That’s despite the prices peaking at an average of $402,900 in December of last year.

These figures show that many folks in the U.S. still value homeownership. They still consider it a major part of the American dream, as well as their own personal goals.

But buying an existing home isn’t the only route to home ownership. You also have the option to build a home from the ground up. It may cost you more initially, but this extra expense comes with many advantages.

We’ve rounded up five of these advantages that building a home has over buying. Consider them before finalizing your decision of buying an existing home!

1. Build a Home Based on Your Personal Preferences

You get what you pay for, and in this case, utmost flexibility when designing your home! You can have the home building contractor do your bidding when it comes to features you want.

Let’s say you’ve always wanted to design your own kitchen. You want an island and an L-shaped prep area. You also have in mind a specific granite color for your countertops.

If you choose to build a home, that’s exactly what you’ll get. Whereas if you buy, you have very little chances of finding a home with these specifications.

2. Design Features for Specific Household and Health Needs

If you’re like 17% of adult children, chances are, you take care of your parents and they live with you.

In this case, you’d want to make sure your home is age-friendly. It should have features that prevent slipping, tripping, and falling. It’s also not a good idea for them to have to climb stairs.

If you were to buy a house, you may have a hard time finding properties that have these features. Whereas if you build a house, you can incorporate as many of them as needed. This is only one example, but you can already see how building in this case is a wiser choice.

3. Lower Maintenance Costs

In the case of building versus buying, you also have to consider future maintenance costs. This is another area where building a home makes more sense.

Think about it.

A newly-built house boasts brand-new parts and materials. Almost, if not all structural components are new and unused. Most of the furnishings, especially appliances, are likely to be brand-new as well.

On the flip side, an existing house has already seen better days. Even the most well-maintained houses still have a few problems here and there. This can be an older roof, an outdated plumbing system, or worn gutters.

In essence, building your own home frees you from maintenance costs for the first few years. Now, combine this benefit with the greater flexibility building provides. You’ll see right away why building from the ground up may be a better choice.

4. Longer Warranties

Aside from lower maintenance costs, a newly-built house also has a longer warranty. This warranty applies not only to the structural components and appliances. Reputable home builders also provide their own project warranties.

5. Cheaper on the Long Run

There’s a very small chance you’ll find an existing home that has everything you want. That’s why you’d have to prepare to shell out even more money to renovate and upgrade it. Remodeling, redecoration, and repair expenses can quickly add up.

It may be convenient and cheaper to buy an existing home now. But if you take all these other costs into consideration, you may end up spending more. So, why not build now so you don’t have to worry that much about future home improvement projects?

Build or Buy: The Final Choice is Yours

There’s no doubt that you’ll enjoy greater flexibility if you choose to build a home. You’ll also have more fun thinking up design ideas and layout concepts. But you should still consider your budget and future needs.

If you can afford the higher cost of building, then by all means, choose this route to home ownership.

Want to get started on making a design for your outdoor living space? If so, then head over to our site’s Garden and Patio section!