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Old 04-27-2016, 08:07 AM
 
277 posts, read 305,255 times
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We found a workable area to put a contract on a house..(new construction), there are several houses by a few builders that can 'work' for us. As we home shopped, we found several homes discounted by the builder 3-12% off their listing price. First, priced at $135+ per sq. ft. Just seemed inflated. We have had several calls from a couple of the builders reiterating their sales price is highly flexible even with the discount.
1. Is there a source to find the price per sq ft for an area sold?
2. If any of you have purchased, care to share your offer experience...lots of offers back and forth or fairly straight forward?
3. Our relo has determined there is no cost of living differential...hmmm...here, I have 10 acres, large oak/poplar barn, gunite pool, property fencing, 4000 sq ft home (10 years old) loads more and for the same price get 3000 sq ft home on 7000 sq ft lot....location is a bear! I really want to pay same price per sq. ft that we will get here...losing acreage and amenities and gaining rich property taxes has me singing the blues.

Any advice or experience to share?
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Old 04-27-2016, 09:37 AM
 
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You are comparing new builds to a ten year old home. Do you have to have a new home? Have you searched for an older home with the things you want? Older homes usually have larger lots in the Houston area.

Last edited by Meyerland; 04-27-2016 at 09:56 AM..
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Old 04-27-2016, 09:49 AM
 
Location: Houston, TX (Bellaire)
4,900 posts, read 13,742,914 times
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Buying new construction in a down market can be a bad decision. Builders do inflate their prices. Years ago when I lived in a new construction MPC I happened to visit the model house of a new section they had opened. They had flyers with their current prices, example house A was $300,000. Well a couple weeks later they had a "sale" all houses marked down 10%. Well House A was now listed at $330,000 with a line through the price and a "sale" price of $297,000 so the actual discount was 1% inflated to look like 10%.
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:00 AM
 
277 posts, read 305,255 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meyerland View Post
You are comparing new builds to a ten year old home. Do you have to have a new home? Have you searched for an older home with the things you want? Older homes usually have larger lots in the Houston area.

We actually want a smaller lot, we are becoming empty nesters and will travel much more...we need a new home because we do not want to deal with replacing AC units/appliances/flooring/lighting/upgrading...and dh will most likely work from home so being able to move in with no additional work since we are moving from out of state is the most appealing...we have looked at homes 2-4 years old, but most of them bought when the market was not as soft and do not have as much wiggle room on pricing...
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:03 AM
 
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Yes, the people who bought in the last four years are in a bit of a bind when it comes to selling. I would just get an experienced realtor to negotiate with the builders. Have you been using one? They can often get a much better discount. ( I am not a realtor, FYI)
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:03 AM
 
277 posts, read 305,255 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chris_ut View Post
Buying new construction in a down market can be a bad decision. Builders do inflate their prices. Years ago when I lived in a new construction MPC I happened to visit the model house of a new section they had opened. They had flyers with their current prices, example house A was $300,000. Well a couple weeks later they had a "sale" all houses marked down 10%. Well House A was now listed at $330,000 with a line through the price and a "sale" price of $297,000 so the actual discount was 1% inflated to look like 10%.

Yes, have watched this and we have bought 6 new homes in 20+ years...we're not new to this process and the market conditions, the problem I see is we need a home less than 5 years old, most of those buyers who bought in the past 5 years, bought during a high market...so they did pay premiums...and less likely to have wiggle room compared to builders that have 30-50 homes to sell across the city.
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:34 AM
 
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What area of town are you looking at? A realtor can pull recent comps in the last 90 days or so to tell you what similar homes have closed for. This is your best bet in understanding possibly how much wiggle room you may have in a particular community with a particular builder. All have different pricing strategies.
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:41 AM
 
1,237 posts, read 2,021,489 times
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Redfin will have actual sales prices without needing a realtor.
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:44 AM
 
1,045 posts, read 2,155,503 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Failed Engineer View Post
Redfin will have actual sales prices without needing a realtor.
Register on homesnap.com. All you need is an email address and they don't spam you.

Compare sq. ft. prices sold in the area and counter offer.
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Old 04-27-2016, 10:58 AM
 
6,720 posts, read 8,397,409 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Failed Engineer View Post
Redfin will have actual sales prices without needing a realtor.
If you use a realtor for a new home, you don't have to pay for it and it's already budgeted on their end. A realtor is more likely to know how much wiggle room the builders have and how much they can get for their clients. I would never buy a new home without a realtor.
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