When you are looking at homes — new construction homes versus existing homes — you have a lot of considerations to ponder. Value is a big one. What gives a home value? Location, of course. But after that, two or three factors that really influence a home’s value are the amenities, the floor plan, and wear and tear. For most of those factors, new construction homes come out ahead, making them worth more than an existing home.
New construction homes have a few advantages over existing homes. First, the amenities. You can get better looking countertops, longer-wearing carpet, and updated paint colors in new homes, and older homes often look outdated unless the owner has kept up over the years. Even little things like faucets, cabinet hardware, and railings on staircases can date your home.
Second, floor plans change over time, even in generalities. Bigger rooms. Higher ceilings. Open kitchens. All of these things go in cycles, and which floor plan you have tends to pigeon hole your home into the era in which it was built. Some of those eras were so trendy that their fads don’t hold value over time.
Finally, of course, is wear and tear. Everyone who lives in a home leaves their mark in dents, grooves, depressions in the wood.
If you are in a historic home, those marks add value, but most homes just look worn down, and most people want their own wear and tear on a home, not someone else’s.
The biggest advantage of new construction homes, of course, is that you can design it exactly how you like. Want a big sunroom? Prefer lower ceilings and a rambler style? Want it to look like a castle? You can do any of those things, and you can do them on a large scale or small. With new construction, the choices are limitless.
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