Pros and Cons of Building a New Home

There's nothing quite like moving into a brand new home that's been crafted and fine-tuned to your specific needs. But a new home is not for everyone. What are some of the pros and cons of building a new home?

Let's break with tradition and start with the cons first:

Cons of building a new home

  • It's more expensive. Quality comes at a cost.
  • Cost again - it's easy to blow your budget as the price of all those discretionary upgrades adds up
  • Unless you're really well off, you'll be further away from the city centre, existing amenities, and work.
  • Lack of a coherent community if you're one of the first people to move into a new development area.
  • Ongoing construction noise and disruption to services if you're moving in to a new development.
  • Bland outdoor landscaping for the first few months/years unless you're willing to pay to speed up the process
  • Typically smaller section sizes
  • Lack of authentic charm (but at least your house will be warmer than those historical villas!)
  • You might have to wait a long time before moving in.

Pros of building a new home

  • Add your personal touch by working with the architect, builder and interior designer to customise your home just the way you want it.
  • Modern design elements that are desired for current lifestyle demands; Open plan, spacious living rooms, indoor-outdoor flow, walk-in wardrobes, master bedroom ensuite, etc., the list goes on.
  • Low maintenance costs for the first few years, and a master builders guarantee to back that up
  • Better energy efficiency due to modern design and newer building materials = lower ongoing costs for heating and cooling.
  • Integrated modern technology such as fibre internet, security alarms, multi-room speaker systems, natural heating and cooling.
  • Potentially a lower deposit required due to the RBNZ's October 2016 high-LVR restrictions for investors; There are exceptions for new builds, meaning that a 40% deposit is often not required..
    • Higher HomeStart grant subsidies for new build homes if you qualify, and higher house price caps to qualify
  • No-one else has ever lived in it before. Ever.

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