Life & Luxury Magazine Homefront
The Buyer, Builder and Realtor Relationship By Stacy Cate
T
he idea of buying a new construction home can be so exciting! Who doesn’t go into those extraordinary model homes and dream of having a home finished out exactly as they have it expertly laid out? Most builders’ model homes are like a wonderland of what is possible. The builder has set the stage to draw you into that feeling that you could just bring your toothbrush and a few clothes and move right in. Haven’t we all been guilty of walking slowly through the model home taking in all the thoughtful details, everything down to the perfectly placed accent pillow. This wonderland is a nice place to be and for the right price, the builder might sell that model to you as is. But, for the vast majority of us, the steps necessary to get from the model ‘dream home’ to the reality of what our budget will allow involve an extensive list of details and decisions to be made. There is no denying that in the North Dallas area the new home construction business is booming. Recent market reports show that in the fourth quarter of 2019 builders in DFW had 8,888 new home starts, or an increase of 20.7 percent over the fourth quarter of the prior year. The data also indicates that for the year of 2019, there were 35,228 new
22 | WeAreProsper.com
homes which were sold in DFW, an increase of 4.8 percent over 2018. This information illustrates that the growth of the new home construction market in DFW is currently considered balanced, with about a 2.5 to 3-month supply of inventory. Buying a home is one of the largest financial transactions of one’s life and it can be intimidating for anyone. It’s important for buyers to educate themselves to protect their equity. Buying a new construction home is an entirely different dynamic than buying a pre - existing home. You will be buying directly from a builder who has built the home with the sole purpose of selling it at a profit. This builder needs to move the new home so he can move on to his next project. In order to understand the best strategies for buying new construction you need to be able to put yourself in the shoes of the builder. While the builders Sales Professional is a wonderful resource and able to provide a great deal of information about the neighborhood, the home features and the building process it is important to understand that it is not their job to protect the interest of the buyer in the transaction.