The true value of a new home starts to show itself in reduced operating, insurance and maintenance costs; as well as holding a higher HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) value. Due to the significance of the savings, this means you have more disposable income to pay off mortgages much more quickly, build a larger home, or simply live a higher quality lifestyle. In short, you start receiving dividends the moment you move in.
Initial added cost: To sum it up, the initial added cost to build a new home is about 10% more, however, this number has been reduced significantly in the last years, due to rising prices of lumber and building products associated with conventional construction. There are construction savings as well. For instance you do save on HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) installation costs (lowered energy requirements) and construction loan costs (shorter building time line).
Insurance: New buildings are highly resistant to fire, flood, earthquakes and wind. Many insurance companies have started to offer discounts for types of construction which rate as non-combustible construction or disaster resistant in these areas. Often the savings are in excess of 30% of your overall insurance bill.
Energy efficiency: With an almost airtight building envelope and consistent HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) values, a new home can consume up to 80% less energy for heating and 70% less energy for cooling. This means furnaces will only need to supply about 1/3 to 1/4 the heating and cooling output, when compared to conventional framing.
Longevity: Maintenance is not really an issue on new homes. However, most conventionally framed homes require about $1,500.00 per year for maintenance after the first five years. After ten years, this number increases to about $3,000.00, with the homeowner investing the purchase price of the home in repairs and upkeep after about 25 years.
Higher Appraised value: Appraisers understand that quality makes a difference, and will appraise you home for more, when compared to standard code construction. This means that your total home will be worth, on average, 20% more than what you paid for it. That 20% equity can be used to borrow against at a later date, or some banks allow borrowers to utilize this difference as their 20% down payment. So it really does not matter if you have a down payment or not, as it's built into the value of the home. That's like a free $20,000.00 for every $100,000.00 you spend.
Higher resale value: New homes retain a much higher resale value. Many people believe this is due to the simplicity of the components and the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning) costs. The fact is that concrete has been around for thousands of years, and many buildings still stand which were built by the ancient Romans. How often have you bought a home for its "appraised value". Now you can resell, and gain the difference from the appraised value and the construction value, as the purchaser buys based on the appraised value.
So in short, you pay less, and get more.
