Because buying a new construction home in Colorado often makes more sense than buying a resale home.
Colorado new home construction: sure, there is always a case to be made for buying a lovely, well maintained resale home in an established community. But given the current market for new construction homes in Colorado and the great opportunities for finding exceptional value and quality in new and custom houses, we would be remiss in not presenting the facts on this critical topic. This article recaps some of the more compelling points that homebuyers should weigh.
VALUE: Some resale Colorado homes are still priced above their true value, when considering factors including deferred maintenance and required updating. Builders in Denver, Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, and other Front Range communities have worked feverishly to offer more house for less money than the boom years. Yes, building materials are up from their lows hit a few years ago, but still have not outpaced historically adjusted highs. Lot costs generally remain lower than peak amounts, and builder operations have been dramatically streamlined, all combining to create a value.
SPECIAL OFFERS: Discounts on Colorado new construction homes still exist in some locations. Depending on the builder, These discounts include price reductions, free gourmet kitchens, design studio allowances – and the discounts aren’t just “smoke and mirrors.” They actually offer more purchasing power.
FINANCING: Many Colorado builders are currently offering in-house financing with handsome rate buy downs, closing costs and a host of other programs. In Colorado, the state strictly regulates “back end” profits, helping to ensure that the consumer gets the best loan for the best rate.
OPPORTUNITY FOR CHOICE AND PERSONALIZATION: Pick everything that goes into your new home. It’s that simple. Coordinate colors to your taste, decor and furniture.
ENERGY COSTS/GREEN BUILDING: From the appliances to thermal envelopes to the HVAC system, new Colorado home construction offers significantly more energy efficiency than just a few years ago. Requirements to increase energy efficiency by government and utility companies are literally forcing Colorado builders to incorporate new and more efficient technology in order to lower consumption, and therefore, your utility bills. This effort has a benefit to the environment at the same time. Add to that, Green Building practices employed by top builders as well as environmental sustainability mandates, and you will be paring that carbon footprint down to size, all the while saving serious money compared to that drafty older house!
PEACE OF MIND: Is there dreaded Black Mold growing in a wall or floor of my used home that no one knew about at time of purchase? How’s the electrical? Will Colorado’s swelling soils crack my foundation and destroy my investment? There’s even a name for these issues: they are called “latent defects.” With new Colorado homes these issues become less terrifying, due to the warranties and better building practices than even a few years ago.
MOVE IN FAST: Colorado builders have available homes ready right now.
WARRANTY: Virtually all new homes carry a bumper to bumper warranty on everything for up to 2 years. Then, 8-to-10-year structural warranties take over. Material and workmanship warranties often extend for years as well. Can a resale do that? Typically not. Sure, someone can buy a warranty on a resale house, but it’s not quite the same as what new construction offers.
APPRECIATION: After the last few years it may be hard to believe, but homes can still appreciate. And the research says that new Colorado home construction generally has greater appreciation potential than an older homes.
BETTER PRODUCT: State-of-the-art technology and construction, increasing numbers of inspections required by city and county entities, and design that reflects the buyer’s ever changing needs are now the guiding principles in new Colorado home construction. Home builders are partnering with suppliers to further refine products in order to improve long term customer satisfaction. Today’s new houses are the most worry free ever.
BETTER FLOOR PLANS: How many times have we heard, “I can’t find what I am looking for,” from clients after showing them 20 used houses? Well, there is a reason for that. Floorplans become obsolete over time. This is due to the fact that the way people live in their homes changes over time. Builders and architects spend lots of time and money researching those trends, and they design accordingly. A modern floorplan simply blows away an older house of the same square footage. Architects design today’s homes to use every square foot of available space. When the time comes, the new home will be easier to resell due to that fact.
PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP: It’s a new home, it’s yours and no one else has ever lived in it.
BLANK CANVAS: Most of us have been there. We bought an existing home and felt for a time as if it truly was not ours. It still had the look and feel of belonging to the previous owners. Fad colors, odors, and many more things worked together to create an alien environment for the first several weeks. It’s 1 AM, you have a paintbrush in your hand and you’ve been cleaning and cleaning for weeks. Not to mention all the other things you’ve been doing to make your used house feel more like your home! While the charm of making a used home into your own is perfect for some buyers, it does not work for everyone. Or some people such as this author, have “redone” so many homes over the years, that it is time for a new approach. So with a new home, you might paint a room or two if you feel like it – but not because you feel as though you simply must.
THINKING ABOUT REMODELING A USED HOME? Getting a resale house exactly the way you want it can be expensive and inconvenient. Sure, sometimes a resale might be the perfect home. This is uncommon. Usually the new owners want to change or update many things and far more often than not, the costs exceed the initial budget. Plus, in today’s real estate market, a good chunk of those well intentioned dollars spent just might be gone forever.
Given the extensive reasons that are presented above, we think you’ll agree that buying a Colorado new construction home is at least worth seriously considering. We’re not sure how long the value, incentives and deals will last, but as of right now, it often just makes sense to go with a new Colorado home.
