When you’re looking to buy a home in the lower mainland, there are a lot of options to consider. The two biggest choices are between re-sale homes or a brand new build. Keeping an open mind and planning out your home must haves are an important first step when considering between the two.

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What is a New Construction in Real Estate?

Preparing for a home search

New construction is a home that is freshly built, meaning a buyer is the first person that would live in that home. They adhere to modern housing safety standards and come with a range of interior build types.

Many new builds are often located in suburbs or commuter towns that are outside of the main core of a city. Most times, the purchase of these homes happens before they are actually built. Normally, there will be a model home to look at to see the design, but the property a buyer would be purchasing is mainly from a plan that a developer made for a future community.

What is a Resale Property in Real Estate?

A resale property is an established home that has had previous owners. It’s a very common type of property that can be seen on the market and often comes with unique design and charm.

Resale homes are move-in ready and can sometimes be freshly renovated by a previous owner or waiting for a buyer to personalize it further. These homes are more often in established neighbourhoods because of their long standing history.

Purchasing a resale home means the buyer has the option to negotiate price with the seller of the property in order to agree on something like a new roof in the contract. Resale homes are often more convenient for folks who are buying their first home or after selling their previous home and are looking for a place to live.

Recommended Reading: Top First Time Home Buyer Programs For BC Buyers

Pros and Cons of a New Build

There are pros and cons for these different property types, so it’s important to understand how these aspects will play out in your decision when buying a home.

Pros of new construction

New builds are often enticing because they are a blank canvas that come with a basic design. When you buy a property before it is built you often get a bit of choice of different colours or design features throughout the home.

Modern designs and plans

Usually, the plans from the developer are modern, with clean lines and open layouts. New builds are often a part of a “new build community” planned by a developer. Building entire neighbourhoods from the ground up usually includes upgrading associated roads throughout. For some, living outside of a city’s core can be the more ideal situation for their career and lifestyle.

Expansive Amenities

New build condos offer the proximity to a downtown core while also including amenities within the building like gyms, pools, saunas or cinema rooms. Developers know the kind of client they build for, so, new construction property draws in a similar kind of clientele which means future neighbours will fit into a similar demographic.

Lower initial maintenance costs

Since everything is brand new, maintenance and replacement costs will be low for the first few years, which can take the burden of hidden costs off a new home buyer.

Cons of new construction

No time for design

Sometimes a blank canvas can be too much work for busy people who don’t have the time to pick out the details. The design choices are often simple things like counter tops or door types and anything above the standard design from the developer will cost more.

Not move-in ready

If a buyer is thinking of purchasing before the build is finished, the timeline for completion rests on the construction schedule running according to plan. This means that new builds are not move-in ready and if the new property happens to be built before the surrounding lots, there will be construction happening daily in the neighbourhood until the builders finish.

Communities take time to build

These neighbourhoods have also been catered to certain types of folks and their lifestyles, so if differences or similarities between neighbours matter to you, this is something to consider. New build communities may be outside of a city central and thus may not have established shopping or other services close by yet, which means commuting to a place of work or to run errands.

Amenities aren’t free

New-build condos offer basic amenities within the building, but these are added into monthly building and strata fees, and the more amenities that are available, the higher the monthly fee. Lastly, new construction properties often cost more per square foot and prices are not normally negotiable.

Recommended Reading: What Happens on Closing Day When Buying a Home?

Pros and Cons of a Re-sale

Pros of a re-sale

Move-in ready

Resale homes are usually classic charmers with reliable bones. They have unique design and the room to improve, if a potential buyer wishes. One of the biggest pros for a resale home is that they are move-in ready and a move-in date on a sale contract is reliable and adheres to legalities.

Closer to city centers

Resale homes are usually closer to a city center and have established amenities, transportation and neigbourhoods. A diverse range of people make up these neighbourhoods which adds a special kind of culture and community.

Potentially lower monthly fees

Many resale home sellers are prepared to negotiate with a potential buyer on price or upgrades written into the contract. Resale condos allow the buyer to narrow their searches by building amenities and the kind of budget a buyer might have for the associated monthly fees.

Wide Variety of Styles

These property types also come in a wide variety of styles and architectures to suit a potential buyer, and older homes have usually been taken care of throughout the years or even remodelled with modern features and additions. One of the great potentials of a resale home is that they are usually much less expensive than a new build.

Cons of re-sale

Maintenance and remodelling

Sometimes resale homes require maintenance and upgrading only a few years after purchase, which adds to the overall expense of purchasing the home. Remodelling can become costly if a buyer tries to match an older design, or if a buyer wants to add on an entire floor. Remodelling a resale home can add value to the sale price in the future, but it isn’t always a one to one ratio, sometimes the cost of upgrades only adds half of the total money spent on the bathroom to the future sale value.

Unseen surprises

When buying a resale home, if the right inspections or precautions aren’t taken during the buying process, there could be unseen surprises that could cost you. This could include unforeseen condo corporation fees, major restoration or repairs that need to be made to integral parts of the home, etc. Make sure to get professional advice when buying a home.

Home Buyer Considerations For Making the Right Choice

With many pros and cons for both, the question comes down to new build vs resale.

Both types of properties draw in specific types of people, and it all comes down to a buyer’s current lifestyle and their future goals. If you think you might need help, a Realtor is an excellent asset to help you find a property and give you advice on the details you might be questioning.

Of course, budget is another important factor. Resale homes are the most convenient for almost anyone due to the price, which can possibly be negotiable with the right seller and Realtor. They are move-in ready and have solid move-in dates that are written into the selling contract.

New builds are freshly built and offer some customization, but can sometimes lack character within the home and the surrounding neighbourhood. Additionally, new build communities are often removed from a city center, which can be nice for those that enjoy living closer to rural areas, but it also means that established amenities, like grocery stores and community centers, are often further away from the home. In new build condos, they usually offer many amenities within the building, but this comes at an additional fee that is non-negotiable.

Recommended Reading: [Guide] Contract of Purchase and Sale For New Home Buyers & Sellers

We’re Here to Help

Choosing a home doesn’t have to be a hard decision when you have all of the pros and cons at your disposal to help you.

If you’re still not sure if you should by a re-sale versus a pre-construction, feel free to get in touch with us. We’d be happy to answer any further questions, no obligation. Contact us here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are new homes more expensive?

New builds can often be more expensive because of the cost of labour and ever changing material supply chain. New build properties are built from the ground up and, like all properties, are considered appreciating assets. This means that the initial cost of the house is normally at a premium to pay for the labour and materials upfront. While the property will normally increase in price over time, the initial costs reflect this so that the developer and labourers will make a profit on their endeavours.

Do new homes appreciate faster?

Normally, if a buyer purchases a new build, the property is no longer considered a new build because of ownership. This means that the property remains, for a year or two, around the same price that it was purchased for. If the new build community still has empty lots, the other properties will be selling for a similar price and appreciation will not be rising by much until the development is finished.