Many home buyers ask themselves and their real estate agent "Should I buy a new home or should I build a new home?"
The time involved in building a new home is considerable. I've published a diary of my own experience building a new Palo Alto home at http://julianalee.com/diary.htm. In my own case, I chose to make a significant business change during the first part of building my home. The time I needed to spend on business caused me to halt progress on my new home. After I restarted the project, the time spent making decisions about materials, appliances, lighting, paint, etc was considerable. Building a new house can take a considerable investment of your time.
Is it likely that your new home will be worth more than the dollars spent building it? Yes, in my own experience I felt my new home was worth more than the dollars I spent. Don't forget your time investment though. Another way to find an answer to this question is to look at the sales prices of houses which have just been built compared to the sales price when the house was purchased. Since the beginning of 2011 the records I've found for Palo Alto show most often an increase in sales price of $400 to $600 per square foot with some reaching even higher. If you keep the building cost of your new home below $300, the increased value can be significant. It will require you spend time selecting builders and materials carefully, but $300 per square foot would be a reasonable cost for many people. Please see the new Palo Alto home sales statistics I've posted at:
http://julianalee.com/palo-alto/new-palo-alto-homes.htm
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