A resale home might be worth another look

If you are in the market for a home and are leaning toward a new build, perhaps you should also look at resales.

When you consider that Maricopa is a relatively new city, most of the “older” homes are less than 20 years old and in good condition.

There are several factors that might make a resale home a better deal for you. First is availability.

If you need a home quickly, a new build is usually not a good option. Since the pandemic, a big problem facing the housing industry has been labor and supply shortages, frustrating buyers with long wait times and missed deadlines.

With a resale home, the house is ready, and assuming financing works out, you have a predictable path to moving in.

Another positive is familiarity. When you buy a resale in an established neighborhood, you already know how close your neighbors sit and what kind of houses they have.

If you buy a new build, you may have a vacant lot next door, but you don’t know what kind of home will be built next to yours, how close it will be, or even when it will be built. Those nice open views you now have could someday be taken away by a towering 2-story home built on the adjacent lot.

Resale homes are usually in established neighborhoods with established streets and utilities. That is a large knowledge base for new owners to draw from. Realtors, HOAs, neighbors and you should know the history of local problems and how they have been resolved. You may have a template for correcting similar issues in the future. New homes on new streets come with a lot of unknowns.

Price is always a top issue. The price per square foot of a new build is often higher than a resale. If the resale is a nice property, you could look to save some money.

Additional savings could come in the upgrades that a lived-in house has that a new build doesn’t.

A few examples include:

• A finished yard with mature landscape. Most new homes come with a dirt backyard. Adding hardscape, irrigation, and plants can cost tens of thousands of dollars. And citrus trees can take several years of care before they start bearing fruit.
• Appliances and fixtures. Many resale homes come with refrigerators, washers and dryers included. You may also get energy-saving features like sunscreens or solar panels. Some new build homes don’t even include ceiling fans or blinds on the windows.

Dayv Morgan is a Maricopa Realtor and owner of HomeSmart Success.