As a realtor, I love the aroma of the new home but it doesn’t mean I don’t like older homes. New homes come with lot of perks which older homes lacks these days even with upgrades made by the owners. One of the virtues of a newly constructed home is the savings that come from reduced energy and maintenance expenses. Here is analysis from National Association Home builders released few months ago.

As per NAHB analysis, for routine maintenance expenses, 26% of all homeowners spent $100 or more a month on various upkeep costs. However, only 11% of owners of newly constructed homes spent this amount. In fact, 73% of new homeowners spent less than $25 a month on routine maintenance costs. They used data from the 2009 American Housing Survey (AHS) to offer proof. The AHS classifies new construction as homes no more than four years old.

Similar findings are available for energy expenses. According to the 2011 AHS, on a median per square foot basis, homeowners spent 81 cents per square foot per year on electricity. Owners of new homes spent less: 68 cents per square foot per year. For homes with piped gas, homeowners spent on average 50 cents per square foot per year. Owners of new homes spent just 34 cents per square foot per year.

The 2011 data show similar results for various other utilities. For water bills, homeowners averaged 28 cents per square foot per year, while owners of new homes averaged 22 cents. For trash bills, the median for all homeowners was 15 cents per square foot per year, while for new construction the median was 13 cents per square foot per year.

These data highlight that a new home offers savings over the life of ownership due to reduced operating costs. And in fact, these reduced costs result in lower insurance bills as well. The median cost for all homeowners of property insurance is 39 cents per square foot, while it is only 31 cents per square foot for owners of new homes.

These reduced expenditures represent one of the many reasons that the current system of appraisals needs updating to reflect the flow of benefits that come from features in a new home.

May be, these home builders are trying to propagate these numbers to create more advantage in favor of new home to bring more buyers to the model homes. I would think so but what they are quoting doesn’t seem to be abnormal or out of normal. I do see these advantages except water bill since it depends on the MUD district and if you are new community it can be higher than older neighborhoods which eventually can go down. Keeping all facts aside, obviously new homes are better due to lot new upgrades happened in construction industry but that shouldn’t turn down the older homes with good price. You can always upgrade to energy efficient windows, techshield roofs, better lighting etc.,

Source: eyehousing.org

About Vijaianand Thirnageswaram

I am a Proud Realtor of Texas, trying to guide and help clients to find their dream home and educate them to buy them for right price. I am also a Candidate for CFP who has more financial knowledge which allows me share and educate clients in any financial decision making process.

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