If you’ve been on the fence about buying a new construction home, there are plenty of good reasons to finalize your decision sooner rather than later. The main motivating factor should be that home prices are not expected to decrease any time soon; they are, in fact, projected to increase for the foreseeable future. Interest rates are also still low compared to pre-pandemic rates, though these, too, will begin to rise (as they have already).
Prices and Rates Expected to Climb
Going into the new year, there is certainly less volatility in the real estate market than we saw in 2020 and 2021. Then, prices were increasing at breakneck speed as demand shot up. All we heard were stories about bidding wars, waved inspections, and even waved appraisals as buyers brought cash to the closing table. Now, as demand cools, home prices are, too. But if you think they’ll start decreasing anytime soon, you may want to re-evaluate.
Zillow predicts home prices will rise 14.3% in the next year, and much of that has to do with the cost of building products and supplies. Lumber, while much more available than it was a year ago, continues to cost well above what it did pre-pandemic, and those costs continue to creep up. The same is true for just about every component of a home — from flooring to HVAC systems to paint. As with housing in general, the demand is just too high as manufacturers struggle to keep up, and prices reflect that.
Demand for new houses isn’t letting up anytime soon. The U.S. currently has underbuilt housing by at least 5.5 million homes. Even as the pace of building picks back up, it will take five or six more years before supply and demand level out, continuing to buoy the price of homes.
Still-low interest rates are also a great reason to buy a new home now. Even with higher home prices, today’s low rates help to keep monthly mortgage payments reasonable for home buyers. (Some lenders even offer the option to lock in your interest rate now, and build later.) And if you have a certain budget that you must stick to, the ability to afford a larger home is an added perk of low interest rates. But they won’t stay low forever, and are predicted to rise substantially in 2022.
Now is the RIGHT Time to Build
If you’ve been in “wait and see” mode for the last few years, you’ve probably looked extensively at floorplans and chosen one or two that would be perfect for you and your family. And chances are you’ve identified exactly where you would build your new home. Now is the RIGHT time to start the process, while the communities you like still have availability and the interest rates are still low. And with Dream Finders Homes’ proven Path to Ownership, building a new home is faster than you think!
Connect with us to learn all about new home financing, our proven process, and how you can start building your dream home today.