Or a less sophisticated way to put it....old versus new?
The per sq foot price of the new places we have looked at in Folsom are really reasonable compared to some of the resale (specifically, John Laing, and Elliott). The big kicker is that the new places are all on really small lots. And like most men, my husband has this hang up with having property......
Side note: I think the "big lot" syndrome, as I call it, its a left over evolutionary trait that all men crave large parcels of land (more grounds for hunting etc.).
In all honesty if it weren't for the "big lot" issue we probably would be buying a new place. You get to pick out what you want in terms of the interior design, and there is no laundry list of things to fix up when you move in. When you factor in the age and condition, new places are actually cheaper than the re-sales. The big caveat of course is the HOA/Mello Roos taxes, which tend to run around $150 a month (which by my crude calculations could have bought you another $50,000 of house). Another plus is there does not have to be a Real Estate agent involved!
Of course if I came to this conclusion, so have others. I don't know where to find data, but I imagine the new places are selling much better than the comparable resales. For them, the "time is money" holds true much more than for some of these folks who won't lower their asking prices.
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5 comments:
Nice to see a blog about folks moving into an area I just moved out of. Honestly, had it not been for unforeseen circumstances, I'd still be living in Folsom.
Good luck with your home search. There might be some decently priced REOs in Empire Ranch and the Parkway. Of course, if you're willing to live in the Anatolia Development in Rancho Cordova, the builders are falling over themselves to sell houses with obscene incentives. But I do love the trails that snake through the Parkway.
I personally can't see why people would buy into the Standard Pacific "single-family" homes across from the new Raley's. With the lots next to East Natoma, the second story windows are literally next to the street, and a busy street it is.
We looked at Anatolia pretty early in our search (we moved back into the area in late October, and really started looking in January). We had basically ruled it since there were better locations for the price.
We came to the same conclusion about the Standard Pacifics as well.
As it stands, if we are going to buy new, we are waiting for the Blackstone community to start up (EDH South on Latrobe). Similiar concept to Anatolia, but nestled in the hills.
The biggest consideration for many when buying new versus old (older than 2000) is the construction quality. There has been a decent amount of coverage regarding shoddy craftsmanship of new builds. A short while back, the Sacbee had an article covering homes in Serrano that were falling apart, literally, merely due to the wind.
I guess I should have mentioned in the post....these data points lend credence to the fact that the new homes are really going to put downward pressure on the resales. If your average buyer likes the new homes, then guess what will sell if they decide its finally time time to purchase (but as I mention earlier in this blog, unfortunately we don't think that time will be here anytime soon).
As for quality of the new places, ironically we had driven through the Stonebriar community in EDH the week before the article came out, and at the time couldn't figure out what all the scaffolding was for (it was everywhere)! Nice looking and convenient neighborhood, but out of our league at current prices.
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