The “Not-So-Obvious” Benefits of Buying New

Prospective home buyers have the choice of two types of houses on the market: resale or new.

Home buyers planning to buy a brand-new house or condominium often cite energy-efficiency, open layout, a warranty, and being able to select appliances, flooring, paint colors and other design elements as factors driving their choice.

But builders say that buyers can be drawn to a new house for reasons that aren’t so obvious. Below are a few more benefits of a brand-new home that you may not see in the sales brochure.

Building a Community Together

A brand-new community is one of the built-in benefits of many new homes. When families move in to a subdivision at the same time, often lasting bonds of friendship and neighborliness are formed right away. Nobody is the “new kid on the block,” and many home builders host community block parties in new developments to help owners meet and connect. Popular amenities like pools, walking trails and courts for tennis and basketball offer additional opportunities for interaction among neighbors of all ages.

Often new communities are comprised of home owners in the same stage of life, such as young families or active retirees, so neighbors can get to know each other through carpools, PTA meetings, tennis matches or golf games.

Entertaining

Throwing a party in an older home can be a challenge because smaller, distinct rooms make it difficult to entertain guests in one large space. Builders are responding to today’s homebuyer preferences with layouts featuring more open spaces and rooms that flow into each other more easily, like the popular great room. While you are in the kitchen preparing dinner, you can still interact with guests enjoying conversation in the family room without feeling closed off. The feeling of spaciousness in today’s new-home layouts often is enhanced the higher ceilings and additional windows that bringing in more light than you would find in an older home.

A Clean Slate

For some buyers, parking the car in a sparkling-clean garage or being the first to cook a dinner in a brand-new kitchen is part of the appeal of new construction. In addition, you won’t have to spend time stripping dated wallpaper or repainting to suit your own sense of style. You can create your own home décor from the get-go!

The advantages of being the first owner of a home extend to the outdoors. Instead of inheriting inconveniently or precariously placed trees, or having to tear up overgrown shrubs, you can design and plant the lawn and garden you want.

Outlets, Outlets Everywhere!

Homes built in the 1960’s and earlier were wired much differently than houses today. Builders had no way of anticipating the invention of high-definition televisions, DVDs and computers that we enjoy today—and the very different electrical requirements they would introduce. New homes can accommodate advanced technologies like structured wiring, security systems and sophisticated lighting plans, and can be tailored to meet the individual home owner’s needs.

Anyone who has ever lived in an older home can also attest to the fact that there are never enough outlets, inside or out! New-home builders plan for the increased number and type of electronics and appliances used by today’s families. Also, today’s newer wiring systems allow you to operate a wine cooler, Christmas lights or your computer safely and effectively versus ones from years past.

Your Health

Healthy living and green living have never been more important to modern day families. In contrast, asbestos and lead were commonly used in the construction of homes in the past. Today, they have completely eliminated such materials in new home construction.

Formaldehyde emissions from products such as particleboard and plywood have also been substantially reduced. New homes can also have better control systems for areas where radon could be a potential problem.

Southside Living

Buying a new home in the still predominately “rural” areas within the Southern Crescent is still a good deal and often the homeowner will get much more bang for the buck than in other metro Atlanta areas.

The Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport is one of the strongest economic activity generators in the entire southeastern United States. The 2000 Urban Land Institue (ULI) study of Atlanta’s “Southern Crescent” area includes a recommendation for the establishment of a major commercial center immediately to the south of the airport which would be recognized as an International Business Center with Class A office space, hotels, related retail/services and transit accessibility. Other examples of areas like this are in Washington D.C., Dallas/Fort Worth, Hong Kong and South Korea.

Experts in the field predict that one of the greatest development trends of this century will be the concentration of commercial activity in clusters adjacent to major gateway airports. Future new home owners are sure to benefit as more communities are built offering a slew of incredible amenities to their residents all situated in the predominately still rural, “small town” atmospheres of the Southside.

For more helpful hints, contact Sandy Boda, Executive Officer of the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia at (770) 716-7109. The HBA of Midwest Georgia serves over 700 businesses in the building industry in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Meriwether, Heard, Pike, Upson, Lamar, Butts and Jasper Counties.

By Sandy Boda
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