8 Benefits of Buying a New Construction Home

The advantage of buying a new construction home, whether spec or custom, instead of an existing one is somewhat like deciding between a new and used car. The new car comes with the buyer’s choice of features, upgrades, and colors, plus that distinctive “new car” smell. The used car, on the other hand, reflects the previous owner’s tastes and probably has some worn upholstery and perhaps a dent in the side from a fender-bender accident. The new car may cost a bit more, but it is more fuel-efficient, comes with a warranty, and it looks good! If you have the money, which would you choose?

Of course, buying a new construction home involves more choices and a much bigger financial commitment, but, as the preceding discussion of market trends shows, new-home buyers are willing to pay for the advantages of a new home:

Everything is New:

From the foundation to the rooftop, every aspect of a new construction home gleams with freshness. There’s an unparalleled satisfaction in knowing that you’re the first to inhabit every corner of your dwelling. Every element of the homeis brand new, clean, and in working order.

Lower Maintenance & Repair Costs:

While the initial cost of purchasing a new construction home may seem higher than that of a resale property, the long-term financial benefits often outweigh the upfront investment. With lower maintenance costs in the initial years of ownership, new construction home owners can bypass the unforeseen expenses that often accompany older properties. This financial foresight translates into significant potential savings over time, allowing home owners to allocate resources towards other endeavors with peace of mind.

Home Warranty:

One of the most reassuring aspects of investing in a new construction home is the comprehensive builder’s warranty coverage that accompanies it. From the structural integrity of the home to the functionality of individual appliances and mechanical systems, buyers can rest assured knowing that their investment is protected by a robust warranty package. This layer of security not only instills confidence in the quality of craftsmanship but also provides homeowners with the peace of mind to fully immerse themselves in the joys of homeownership.

Energy Efficiency:

New construction homes prioritize energy efficiency to deliver tangible benefits to home owners. With state-of-the-art heating and cooling systems and innovative building materials, these homes are designed to minimize energy consumption and maximize savings on utility bills. By focusing on energy efficiency, home owners can enjoy increased comfort and lower operating costs without compromising on quality or convenience.

New Wiring:

No more settling for inconveniently placed outlets or insufficient wiring. New construction homes allow buyers to tailor wiring for phones, media, and electrical access according to their specific needs and preferences.

Individual Choices:

One of the most enticing aspects of purchasing a new construction home lies in the unparalleled level of customization it offers. From selecting finishes that reflect your personal style to choosing a floor plan that aligns with your lifestyle, the possibilities for personalization are endless.

No haggling over conditions and repairs:

Skip the back-and-forth negotiations over repairs and conditions. With a new construction home, a thorough walk-through before closing ensures that any necessary touch-ups are swiftly addressed by the builder.

Flexibility:

Unlike their existing counterparts, new construction homes offer a level of flexibility that transcends traditional boundaries. Whether it’s the size, layout, or location of the home, buyers have the freedom to tailor every aspect of their living space to suit their individual preferences and requirements. From spacious open-concept designs to cozy nooks tailored for relaxation, new construction homes redefine the notion of flexibility, allowing homeowners to create a living environment that truly embodies their vision of the ideal home.

In essence, the decision to invest in a new construction home transcends mere aesthetics; it represents a conscious choice to embrace a lifestyle defined by modernity, customization, and long-term value. From the promise of freshness to the security of warranties and the freedom of customization, new construction homes offer a myriad of advantages that resonate with today’s discerning homebuyers. As the epitome of contemporary living, these homes stand as a testament to the enduring appeal of innovation, craftsmanship, and the relentless pursuit of excellence in homeownership.

To learn more about the process of buying a new construction homes, please visit my blog page “New Construction Homes.

Vienna VA real estate and Vienna VA best realtor. New construction homes are available in Vienna VA


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Buyer’s Market vs Seller’s Market

Buyers vs. Seller’s Markets – Strategies for Buying & Selling a Home

Buy in the off-season, sell in the Spring or Summer is the mantra, but is it always accurate? When planning to buy and sell a home, it’s important to know about real estate market condition in your area. In this article, I’ll outline the differences between a buyer’s and a seller’s market, and the ways you can use this information to your advantage.

 

What is a Buyer’s Market vs Seller’s Market?

Here are a short definitions.

A buyer’s market occurs when the supply (available homes for sale) exceeds demand (the number of buyers seeking to purchase homes).
A seller’s market occurs when demand exceeds supply, or there are more buyers seeking to purchase homes than there are available homes on the market.

 

How to determine if my local area is in Buyer’s or Seller’s Market?

The way to determine a type of housing market is to calculate the absorption rate. To do this, we’ll use a few market stats: 1) a number of active homes listed in your local area, 2) a specific time frame (for most accurate stats we’ll use 180 days), and 3) a number of homes sold within that time frame.

Let’s walk you through an example.

Area:  Vienna, VA. Type of properties: Single Family Homes.

The Numbers:

Timeframe: 180 days

Number of homes sold: 300

Number of active homes listed: 101

The Math:

Calculating the rate at which homes are selling:

Timeframe/Number of Sold Homes= Rate of Home Sales

180/101= 0.6

The rate of home sales is the amount of time it takes one house to sell. So, in this case, one home is sold every 0.6 days.

Absorption Rate:

Number of active homes listed x Rate of Home Sales= Absorption Rate

101 x 0.6 = 60.6

This means that the absorption rate for Vienna, VA is every 60.6 days, or about 2 months.

In plain English, this means that the current single family homes inventory will be gone in 2 months. A healthy (or balanced) market takes about five to seven months to absorb the current active listings.

As you may have already guessed, the calculations that we did above indicate that Vienna, VA would be in a Seller’s Market.

 

Seller’s Market

A seller’s market happens when there is not enough housing supply to support the demand for houses. Low supply and high demand mean housing prices skyrocket and bidding wars occur.

 

Selling in a Seller’s Market

When people see home values on the rise, many start listing their homes for sale. It’s a fantastic time for you to sell your home during a Seller’s Market. Usually the buyers offer above asking price and remove all or most of the contingencies. You as a seller, could secure a sale price that’s higher than your listing price and receive a clean contract without contingencies, such as Home Inspection or Appraisal.

 

Buying in a Seller’s Market

Buying in a seller’s market is not easy.

You have to stay on top of the housing inventory in case a home you like comes on the market, and you’ve got to be ready to pounce. Here are a couple of strategies to use when buying in a seller’s market.

 

Get Pre-qualified

One of the best things you can do when you go to make an offer is have a pre-qualification letter from your lender. A pre-qualification letter adds credibility to your offer and makes it more attractive to a seller because it shows a lower probability of backing out of the sale due to lack of funding.

To get prequalified, talk to your lender. It’s often as simple as a phone call and answering a few questions. Don’t have a lender? Talk to your real estate agent. They’ll have one that they have used in the past with great success.

 

Stay on Top of the Market

Having your real estate agent on top of things is great, but you’ll want to be on top of the market as well. If you see a house that looks intriguing and is within your budget, have your real estate agent schedule a walk-through.

You’ll have to be quick on your feet with an offer if you really want the house you find, so scheduling a walkthrough of your favorite homes as they pop on the market is a good idea.

 

Buyer’s Market

A buyer’s market happens when the absorption rate is more than seven months. That means that the number of homes available for sale greater exceeds the number of buyers looking to buy.

 

Buying in a Buyer’s Market

This is great news for buyers – more homes to choose from, lower prices, flexible settlement, and you might be able to buy a great home for a lower cost than you would in a seller’s market.

You can take your time and really get to know a property before buying, and can usually get a great deal on real estate.

 

Real Estate is Local

Buyers and Seller’s markets can be seasonal, so you’ll want to pay attention to your local areas stats. For example, in Northern Virginia, the busiest time of the year is between March and August. This busy season does not always mean it’s a seller’s market, but it does mean if you want to sell your home, that’s the season to do it in.

 

Quick Recap

How well you buy or sell your home is dependent upon the market you are currently in. Just because the news says the nation is in one market doesn’t mean you are in the same predicament.

You can figure out which kind of market you are in by calculating the absorption rate or talking to your real estate agent.

The strategy you use to buy or sell your house is also dependent on the market you are in and your real estate agent. Choose your real estate agent wisely and stick to these strategies, and you’ll be able to buy or sell your house in any market. Vienna VA Real Estate market – are we in buyer’s or seller’s market right now?


 

 

Smart Investments: Maximizing Your Home Renovations’ ROI

In the world of home renovation television shows and lucrative flipping businesses, homeowners are constantly asking themselves the question, “what home renovations are really worth it?”

It’s scary to think about dropping large chunk of your hard-earned cash into remodeling efforts when there’s a big question mark over how much money you’ll even recoup at the time of sale.

Luckily, the National Association of REALTORS®, National Association of the Remodeling Industry, or NARI, and Remodeling Magazine have conducted studies and created reports around some of the most common home renovations and the likelihood of losing, gaining or breaking even on your investment.

 

A New Roof

One of the big questions that comes up when we’re showing homes to potential buyers is, “how old is the roof?”

Putting on a brand-new roof might seem like a huge hassle for an insignificant aesthetic return, unlike a bathroom remodel, but potential buyers see it as a huge make-or-break condition. A whopping forty-five percent of REALTORS® have suggested sellers add a new roof before attempting to sell their home, and the typical value recovered from such a project is 109%. Yes, that means you’d be making money off this investment. Doesn’t seem so bad now, does it?

• Median Job Cost: $7,500

• Cost Recouped: $8,150 or 109%

A Kitchen Overhaul

When selling a home your kitchen can either be your greatest selling point, or your worst nightmare. Because this is such a prominent and frequently used part of your home that so easily shows its age, kitchens are always a big part of the house hunting discussion.

Kitchen remodels are a huge expense and you may be at risk of not recouping your entire investment, with a 62% return being the average. But if you’re looking to make a big impact with just one room renovation to stand apart from the competition in the area – this is the way to do it.

Keep in mind that if you are remodeling with the intent to sell, even in the distant future, try to stick to a neutral palette that will appeal to a wide range of buyer tastes and preferences. A kitchen remodel will backfire if all your potential buyers are adding up the cost of removing those bright red cabinets or gold-toned countertops you fell in love with.

• Median Job Cost: $65,000

• Cost Recouped: $40,000 or 62%

 

New Vinyl Windows

You may not immediately think to replace windows as part of a smart remodel investment strategy, but this project offers a number of benefits for a new homeowner. Windows can provide added safety, more enjoyable sunlight, or energy efficiency, and twenty-one percent of REALTORS® have suggested sellers add them before attempting to sell their home.

It’s very possible to just break even or lose a small amount on this investment, but it’s much lower in overall cost than a huge kitchen remodel and still offers a huge selling point.

• Median Job Cost$18,975

• Cost Recouped: $15,000 or 79%

 

A Bathroom Update

Because bathrooms are typically amongst the smallest spaces in your home, they need to pack a big punch when it comes to efficiency. Outdated bathrooms often suffer from poor layout or lack functional elements such as storage, a tub for the kids, or removable shower heads.

When it comes to the shower versus tub debate it’s best to let both win. While large walk-in showers are often seen as a luxury add-in, if you must choose between that and a tub you’re better off sticking with the more versatile tub. If you have more than one bathroom to work with, go ahead and put that nice large shower in the master and leave the tub for the second bathroom. After all, a tub is often needed in a spare bathroom for growing families and bath time for the kids.

Bathroom updates that focus on increasing the functionality and livability of this small space have fared the best when it comes to home renovation returns on investment. It’s likely you’d recover at least half the investment but you would surely succeed in making a space more livable for a potential new owner.

• Median Job Cost: $30,000

• Cost Recouped: $15,000 or 50%

 

New Hard Wood Flooring

You can’t go wrong with wood flooring — it’s one of the few materials that just refuse to go out of style. It has warmth, blends with any décor, and makes you feel like Lord (or Lady) Grantham just looking at it. Put it where everyone can appreciate it — living room, great room, and your kitchen.

• Median Job Cost: $5,500

• Cost Recouped: $5,000 or 91%

 

A New Garage Door

This one might surprise you. After all, how many listings have you seen boasting a brand-new garage door? This is one of those smaller home remodel investments that see a high return from potential home buyers.

The reasons for updating this less-than-glamourous amenity typically relates to worn-out surfaces, finishes and materials. If you’re likely to see a high return on your renovation budget for this project – why not add it in?

• Median Job Cost: $2,300

• Cost Recouped: $2,000 or 87%

 

An Upgraded Landscape

Many homeowners might ignore the state of their lawn when listing their home for sale because they assume the new owners will want to make their own outdoor space changes based on their personal preferences. On the contrary, your lawn can be one area of your home offering the highest return on investment for improvements.

The simple act of seeding or sodding your lawn will typically more than pay for the project. The percent value on adding sod to a lawn brings in an average 143 percent the cost of the renovation, and seeding pushes that to a shocking 417 percent.

Even if your lawn is already looking its best, performing a standard lawn care program can be a real selling point for buyers – who knew? A standard lawn care program typically involves six applications of fertilizer and weed control, and returns an impressive 303 percent on your investment. This sounds like a weekend warrior project that pays.

Other outdoor projects will, on average, allow you to recoup your investment and maybe make a little more on projects such as a new wood deck, patio, or the addition of some new shrubbery.

It’s often hard to know exactly what will make a potential home buyer fall in love with your home or renovation project, so it’s important to stick to the areas with the greatest need and likely largest return. And the more TLC you put into your renovation project the more obvious it will be to your home’s potential new owners that this house has truly been loved and well cared for.

Sod Lawn Median Job Cost: $700

Cost Recouped: $1,000 or 143%

• Seed Lawn Median Job Cost: $120

• Cost Recouped: $500 or 417%!

Sources: NARI & National Association of REALTORS® 2022 Remodeling Impact Report. Remodeling 2017 Cost vs. Value Report for Washington DC Metro Area ( © 2017 Hanley Wood, LLC. Complete data from the Remodeling 2017 Cost vs. Value Report can be downloaded free at www.costvsvalue.com).