Q: We've been looking at
pre-owned houses and new construction (spec houses) for a while now, and there
is always at least one thing that we don't care for in each house.
We would like to build a custom home so everything is the way we would
like it. Our fear is that a custom
home will be out of our price range and we should probably settle for one of the
houses we've looked at even though it isn't "exactly" what we want.
Is a custom home that much more expensive than a spec home?
A: This is a common myth. Of course
it depends on what was used to build the houses you’ve been looking at and what
you will put into a custom home.
Some buyers will upgrade the house right out of their budget in a hurry.
In most cases though, the same size custom home with similar features as
a spec home will cost the buyer about the same.
With a spec home the builder is potentially paying many months of
construction loan interest and realtor commission fees which is recovered in the
price. The cost to the buyer ends up
being about the same and you get the house you really want!