Why Buy New?

Sales pros share responses to buyers weighing the choice between new and existing homes.

The biggest competitor for new-home sales today is existing homes, so Builder asked new-home sales agents across the country to share why a new house is a better value. Many of the answers were classics that every sales agent should have committed to memory, such as the quality of new construction, the availability of new technology, the benefits of a warranty, modern floor plans, and the thrill of choosing colors and options.

We also heard a number of great benefits that might not be on a standard list:

"The buyer gets all the first-time equity, which can be tens of thousands of dollars," says Tracie Shaw, community sales manager for Bowen Family Homes' Hanover Place community in Alpharetta, Ga. They are gaining equity while the house is being built, before they ever make their first mortgage payment.
As Patricia Edwards, a Realtor with the Vineyards New Home Sales Center in Naples, Fla., points out, new homes in Florida meet all the current hurricane codes. Whatever weather or geological conditions exist in your market (hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, flash floods, drought conditions, etc.), new construction offers significant advantages.
Move-in day is simpler for new-home purchasers than for existing-home buyers, who can be delayed because of clean-up or repair issues, notes Rob Ellerman of the Rob Ellerman Team, who serves as sales manager for Gale Home Builders in Lee’s Summit, Mo. “With a new home, you have possession the same day your loan closes and funds are available,” he says. “This means no worries in the interim, and planning the movers is so much easier.”
For buyers with allergies, a new home can improve their health, says Jennifer Stewart, sales agent for Monte Hewett Homes’ Villages at Huntcrest in Lawrenceville, Ga. “A lot of people do have allergies to pets,” she says, “so a new home would be pet allergy–free!"
Finally, Ginny Eji, sales agent for Gentry Homes’ Haleakea community in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, reminds us that new-home buyers are happy that their homes are free of any traces of past residents.