New Home Construction Versus Buying An Existing Home

When deciding whether to buy or build your luxury home in the Washington DC area, there is a lot to consider. There are beautiful homes in the DC area. Classics. The kind of homes that are expensive to build with so much character at today’s prices. But yesterday’s home features also pale in comparison to today’s advanced luxuries. So it’s important to consider all the pros and cons of new home construction versus buying an existing home and renovating it. Let’s take a closer look.

You’ve heard it a million times: Location. Location. Location.

Many times the top reason for buying an existing home is due to it’s fabulous or established location. There may be mature trees and landscaping you can’t instantly replicate. Or it’s in an area where no land is currently for sale. And perhaps the home is too nice to tear down and rebuild. That puts you in the boat of buying an existing home and remodeling it instead of rebuilding from scratch. The first thing to consider is where you want your home to be located. That may be the determining factor in deciding between new construction versus buying an existing home.

Which bells & whistles do you want in your home?

Are you content with a high quality, stately home? Or do you want cool conveniences, modern luxuries and eco-friendly feature’s not found in older homes? Today’s luxuries lean towards rich comfort, ultra-convenience, and state-of-the-art functionality as opposed to the exaggerated elegance of yesteryear.

New luxury homes also opt for flowing, open concepts, outdoor entertainment, wine rooms, wet rooms, eco-friendly materials, and high energy efficiency. Older homes tend to have more rooms and less of an open concept. Do you prefer open living or cozy quarters?

While you can almost certainly add modern day luxuries, the costs could actually outweigh the benefits in some cases. Adding a wine room, wet room, or outdoor kitchen/living space to an unprepared existing structure can cost hundreds of thousands depending on design, materials, and labor involved. There may be plumbing, electrical or structural restrictions to work around that prohibit your dreams from coming true.

“Green” building is a newer concept.

If you talked about a home being “green” more than 25 years ago, people would think you meant the color! Building homes with true energy efficiency and eco-friendly materials is a relatively new concept in the scheme of things. However, in today’s luxury home, eco-friendly materials and features are usually standard. Others can be negotiated into the price at much lower cost when put into the design plans from the beginning.

Go big or and go home.

When building a new home, it can be designed with all of the lavish features and finishes you desire. Picture your new home with soaring 10′ ceilings, lavish textures, grand windows, and never-ending spaciousness and storage, a wet room or spa, theater room, wine cellar, an indoor basketball court, and exercise room. Outdoor living can include massive kitchens, an infiniti pool, open air loggia, multiple fireplaces and virtually anything you can imagine for far less than renovation costs.

There is also the simple fact of making rooms any size you’d like right from the start. If an existing home has small rooms throughout, it’s difficult to expand all of them. Your structure is already limited.

When considering new construction versus buying an existing home, it makes sense to talk with a contractor that does both. If you are located (or want to be located) in the greater Washington DC are, consider contacting us at Rasevic Construction. Since 1990 we have been designing, remodeling and building homes that satisfy our customer’s unique styles, needs, and desires. We would be happy to assist you in creating, designing, and building your luxury home in the Mid-Atlantic area!