JBGoodwin REALTORS® - Austin & San Antonio Real Estate Blog

As you enter the central Texas real estate market, there are many types of homes to consider. It may be helpful to narrow your search by asking simple either/or style questions:

One or two story? House or duplex? Close to downtown or remote?

You also might ask: Should I buy a new construction home or one that’s been lived in before?

There are wonderful benefits to buying a new or used home in Central Texas. For today’s article, we’ll investigate the pros and cons of buying a new construction home. By default, this article will also tell you about some of the benefits of buying used homes as well.

We hope this is helpful as you enter the Texas real estate market.

Without further ado:

The Pros of Buying a New Construction Home

Many people would argue that new construction homes have far more, and greater, pros than they do cons. Just on the surface level, new homes include modern styles, the latest up-to-code safety measures, and new plumbing, electricity, and well, everything!

A new home often contains a modern home plan. If you love open floor plans, modern entryways and windows, and en vogue kitchen styles, then being the first person to live in a home is a promising formula for checking each of those boxes.

Not to mention, some new construction homes are sold before they’re built. If you have a certain floor plan in mind, you can communicate that dream design element to your architect. As they create the blueprint for your home, you get the joy of providing input. The home is catered to you from the start.

New construction homes pack a lot of modern comforts. They often include better and safer technology. Many new construction homes are built with the latest smart home technology. This can translate to better energy efficiency, greater safety, and a more connected home.

There’s one additional benefit that has always been true of new homes: they haven’t been around long enough to accrue much wear and tear. There’s no fear of mold. The roof is sturdy. New insulation helps to keep summers cool and keep winters warm, while keeping utility budgets down.

Want to shop for new construction homes in Texas? Browse available listings here.

The Cons of Buying a New Construction Home

The primary downside you should consider when buying a new construction home is pretty obvious: time hasn’t yet had a chance to reveal the home’s potential problems.

Buying a 10-year-old home, for example, means the previous owner must disclose any problems they’ve encountered while living there. They can tell you about areas of the yard with poor drainage, any foundation shifting that’s occurred, etc.

These elements are hard to know about without hindsight. With a new construction home, you have to be the one to discover any problems inherent to the property.

A new construction home often exists as part of a new community. This means two potential cons to consider before you buy.

For one thing, if you move into a new neighborhood, sometimes that means being surrounded by ongoing construction for the next several years. Your community is being developed while you’re there, after all.

Also, new communities are sometimes located further away from city amenities. Until businesses start to see the opportunities near your neighborhood, commutes to HEB or Walmart may be longer for you. However, with time, both of these problems will take care of themselves.

Of course, even with a new construction home, there are ways to mitigate the chances of running into these problems. It starts by working with a smart, reliable real estate agent.