Building new or buying an established home — benefits of building new
All purchases aren’t equal when it comes to property. Your first home will probably be the largest investment you’ve ever made and maybe ever will make. It’ll be where you create lots of those laughable and loveable memories you look back on for decades and maybe even where you start to grow your family. It's an important decision for sentimental reasons as well as financial and lifestyle ones, and emotion always makes the factors that weigh into your decision to build or buy a house even harder to wade through.
Considerations like location, market trends, house type and price are tricky. They're important, of course. But they can also be impossible to balance successfully. Buying an established home can give you everything you need in a property, but it requires a lot of luck and usually a lot of money. Add in a transient market that you can't quite pinpoint, as well as heavy competition, and you can be left endlessly searching listings to no avail.
Building, on the other hand, will give you what you need. You get to decide on the location, house type and lifestyle because you're not relying on what's available. With an affordable builder, you can harness home and land packages, so the price is right too, and builders often provide structural and maintenance warranties.
We’re in the business of building homes for our cherished clients, so you don't have to take our word for it. Instead, here are the main benefits our first-time buyers have experienced when they build instead of buy.
More autonomy and choice to get the house you want
Choosing your home's design, type and layout is how you make it your own. Everything else is residue when it comes to your home because, with the right space, your house becomes a place of sanctuary, comfort, entertainment and enjoyment. When you build, you have much more choice over your first home, which is enough reason for many to build over buying.
Whether specific parts of a house are important to you, like a studio room or games room, or you've always wanted an open plan house, it's far easier to achieve this by building your own home without compromising on other factors. If you do find the golden goose in an established home, chances are you'll have to sacrifice your budget or location to buy it.
Smaller stamp duty
Another important consideration in the decision to build new or buy an existing home is stamp duty costs. When you buy an existing home, you'll have to pay stamp duty, which is calculated against the entire property's value. It's a little different when you build a house, as you only pay stamp duty on the value of the land, not the house itself. The total stamp duty ends up being much less when you build, which can be a huge advantage over buying a property.
Government support
Some fantastic government initiatives help you get into your first home faster. They offer incentives and concessions to make building a property an even more advantageous option. These vary depending on the location, but in Victoria the government recognises the value in off-the-plan packages.
While government funding plans evolve and new initiatives have been developed to support the economy and first-time buyers, these likely will always benefit building a property because it allows more people to own a home. For example, the First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) is a lump sum discount towards your purchase, which doubles when people build in regional Victoria.
Better quality and easier maintenance
Built homes require less maintenance and fewer repairs because they're new. They also harness more modern technologies and materials in their construction, which can mean the house is built with better quality. In a new build, you'll likely live many months and years before you even need to consider repairs, and maintenance will be quite simple.
When you buy a property, it means its materials and structure are aged. This makes it more prone to weakness and can require more time-consuming and expensive repairs and maintenance. What's more, when you build with First-Place, you'll get a three-year structural warranty and a three-month maintenance warranty, so you won't have to spend any time and money on fixing issues over this period.
Modern, energy-efficient options
Most houses built more than ten years ago didn't have access to the energy-efficient building techniques and materials we have today. There are many great ways to make homes more efficient, and building a home today will give you a chance to use some of these options for your property. This translates into lower energy bills forever and doing your part for the environment.
Greater satisfaction
Finding an established property that meets your needs is nice, but it doesn't compare to the satisfaction of building your dream first home on your own. You'll watch this important step materialise from the ground up and the design you decided on come to life. Many first-time buyers feel a major sense of pride in the achievement, and it’s completely their own home that suits their personality and style.
First-Place’s completion inspections confirm the quality and value of your property
With all that said, arriving at the stage where you're living comfortably in your home takes a little work to get things right. Partnering with an affordable and reputable building company can take all the hard work out of the process. First-Place are experts at working with first-time buyers to discover their options, design a house that suits their needs and lifestyle and construct it to a high standard.
We help you remove the uncertainty of buying an established home with potential maintenance problems with home and land packages that help you harness government incentives and lower stamp duty costs. With independent building inspectors that evaluate the finished product, you can wave goodbye to unexpected renovations and poor-quality workmanship. Before you receive the keys, we would love you to join our site manager for a practical completion inspection so you can see for yourself. Check out our first home buyer guide and price your home with our home configurator. Get in touch today on 1800 134 778 or enquire to find out more.
Disclaimer
This advice in this article is general in nature and does not take into account your personal situation. You should consider whether the information is appropriate to your needs. It is recommended you seek professional advice from a financial adviser before making any important decisions.
First Place is not a financial adviser. You should consider seeking independent legal, financial or other advice to check how the website information relates to your unique circumstances.
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