Building a New Home in Florida in 2022
Building a new home in 2022, what exactly does that look like now?! How much has it changed over the year?! In this post we will be breaking down the new construction homes here in Northeast Florida in 2022.
Different Types of New Construction Homes
The three types of new construction homes that you'll typically see in our area are spec homes, tract homes and custom homes. A spec home is when the builder selects all of the upgrades in the property and they put it on the market and they speculate that the buyer is going to love it. And typically there are quick movies it's where you can come in and instead of starting from scratch, you can find a new construction home, a spec home that they love, and you can close on it fairly quickly. A few examples of builders that build spec homes are Lennar, KB Homes, Richmond, Mattamy.
A tract home is a home that's built on a track of land that a builder has built a community and where all the homes are fairly similar and they complement each other, they complement the vibe and the esthetics of the area. There are quite a few builders that build track homes KB Homes, Lennar, Richmond, custom homes are when you're starting from scratch, selecting every single detail of the home.
Many buyers love this process. It varies in regards to how detailed you can be because sometimes the lot is already selected and the builders are willing to build whatever you want on that lot. Sometimes you have to find the lot, but you're selecting the blueprints here, deciding how thick the walls are, how big each room is, you know where everything sits. You know the direction of the tile. So custom is where every single detail is touched by the buyer.
Semi-Custom homes are when you're working with a builder that has a blueprints and you are allowed to make certain adjustments within that blueprint. Now, there is a certain point where you cannot pass because then it would be a complete different floor plan because these builders have a process that they like to stick to.
Builders in Northeast Florida
Semi-Custom allows you to make certain changes that many buyers do enjoy our popular builders are ICI, SEDA and Toll Brothers with full custom construction homes. There are a plethora of small local builders and we would be more than happy to connect you with the right one that fits your needs and budget. In the higher price and luxury category of new construction builders, we have I.C.I Homes, Toll Brothers and see that these builders price is currently average starting at around 600,000 and can go up to the millions. Here are the different communities throughout Northeast Florida Toll Brothers. Lastly, here are the communities proceeding in the mid-price range category of builders you will find Richmond American Homes. Lennar, Andres. The most common price range between these builders ranged from 300,000 600,000. Here are the different communities for Richmond American homes. Now here are the different communities for the owner. Lastly, here are the communities bridges at the lower price end of new construction. You have D.R. Horton, KB Homes and Dream Finders. Typically you will see homes range from the mid to hundreds and can have prices upwards to 500,000 you are the different communities for D.R. Horton. Now here are the different communities for Dream Finders. Lastly, here are the communities for KB Homes. There are several other builders that we haven't mentioned, but to see which new construction builders align with your budget and preferred area, click on the link below.
How long does it take to build the home in 2022?!
Build time has changed versus last year. Now, we are in 2022 and build time typically is about six to eight months does depend on the builder and if there are any supply chain issues. Last year we were looking at about eight to 12 months to build a home. With so many supply issues, it was very hard to determine when a home was actually going to be complete.
Benefits of Building New Construction
A few benefits of buying new construction. NUMBER ONE REASON is that it's new home and usually the most appealing to buyers. You don't have to worry about living in a house where somebody else was living and you're not really sure if there was any delayed maintenance on the home. It's brand new. Another factor is that perhaps you're in the military or perhaps there's a possibility in five years you're going to be transferring for a job or whatnot. Well, in five years that house is still only five years old versus when you buy a home that it's ten years old. In five years it'll be 15. And between 15 and 20 is when you start really seeing certain major issues with a home as far as roof, AC, water heater. So it's nice to know that when you have something new, you're not going to have to worry about any major repairs.
Typically, another thing that a lot of people really appreciate about new construction is that many of the new homes are energy efficient. Your utility bills are typically much less than a house that is older. And lastly, insurance.
Typically for a new construction home, you can afford more home because your insurance is much cheaper on a new construction home because it's build to the current codes. Typically, you'll see insurance for new construction homes here in northeast Florida around $50 a month, which is amazing. A home that's ten, 15 years old, you're looking at probably about 100 to $200 a month.
Cost of Building a Home
Now, let's talk about costs. If you're building from scratch at that time, there's no guarantee that the House is going to be completed when they estimate it to be completed by so certain families that perhaps have to be in a home by a certain date because of a transfer, because of a job, because it's schools or whatever the case is. So it's something you have to put into consideration that they're going to aim for a certain completion date. But because of supply chain issues, because of other factors, it could be delayed. Another thing about new construction is that you're typically paying more per square foot for a new construction home versus a resale home. You typically get more bang for your buck on a resale than you will on new construction home, because when you build a new construction home and let's say, for example, you want to put some upgraded floors where you're paying for those upgraded floors, typically dollar for dollar, whereas on a resale, if they have upgraded floors, that doesn't mean that their house is worth X amount more because of those floors. So a lot of times with some of the builders, you don't really get to customize it the way you want to. A lot of the floor plans are very similar to their neighbors floor plan. If you're looking for something very unique, very hard to find with you construction, another thing you want to put into consideration is that let's say your bill time is about seven months.
Typically you can't lock into your interest rate until about 30 to 60 days prior to actually closing on your home. So you have about four or five months that you're just waiting to be able to lock into your interest rate. And if interest rates are rising, then that can change your monthly payment. Now there are builders that are getting creative in regards to their financing companies. To allow for certain systems in certain ways to lock into the rate. But it's case by case. If you have questions about that, please let us know. But it is an important factor because it can affect your monthly payment, which, like most people, is important., while we're here, let's talk about negotiating new construction homes so many times the builders, I want to maintain they want to maintain the values in that community. Lowering the price is something they would rather not do, but they will sacrifice their net, meaning that they're willing to give incentives in regards to closing costs and throw a little extra in there case by case. But you're seeing more and more of that with new construction.
Overall Process of Building
Now let's talk about the process of actually buying a new home. So there are certain things that you must put into consideration. And a good real estate agent will help you accomplish this. One is that there are certain times of the year and month that are ideal to negotiate a new construction home because they have certain goals that they're wanting to meet and they're willing to sacrifice perhaps profitability in the sale of that home. It's important to know when those times are. Another thing is that we want to make sure we know before we walk in there what incentives the builder has.
Many builders now especially are willing to pay a portion, if not all, of your closing costs, besides closing costs or other expenses that you might not be aware of, like prepays and proration. You want to know who is responsible for that. And then from there, there are other factors that sometimes people don't realize until after they close. There are certain things that I would always recommend that you ask for so it's very important that you're working with a real estate agent that can help you discover what those things are. I hope this was a value to you. And remember, there's much more information and each builder has different nuances that we'd want to consider. So if you have questions, please make sure to reach out. We'd be more than happy to be a value to you and talk to you and guide you through this process. Along with that, I wanted to leave you something below.
There's two links below, the first one to download our new construction guide & the other one is going to be a link of all the new construction homes in our area here in Northeast Florida. If we can be of value in guiding you through the building process contact us today!
