Cookie Cutter Builder (e.g., Ryan homes, etc.) are a joke and overpriced (insurance, free market)
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There is a big difference between what people want, and what they can afford.
They want a big beautiful home on at least an acre of land, but cannot afford such a thing. They can only afford a plain vanilla box, so that is what builders are building, when building for the masses. They are building to the quality, people can afford, not what they want.
If the builders built what people dream of owning, there would be few sales completed as there would be few buyers that can qualify to buy the home they want. Especially in major city areas of the country.
The lot with improvements so it is ready to build, may cost more than most buyers can afford to buy a home in an area such as Silicon Valley as an example.
I know of a home that was bought in 1980 in Sunnyvale California for $17,000. The woman of the couple that bought it, just died. Her family was asking $1,400,000 knowing it would be torn down to get the lot as that had happened for every home sold in that subdivision the past few years. Put a sign in the yard, to call the son handling the estate. There was a bidding war and ended up selling for $2.4 million dollars. Each of 3 children received after taxes $700,000 as their share.
This is one of the highest price real estate markets in the nation. But a large percentage of them, have improved lot costs, that are simply too high to build highest quality homes. So they build the big builder grade homes in demand today, is that is all the buyers can afford, to be able to build a larger volume of homes, rather than high end custom homes with limited buyers.
In the market for a house and checked out of curiousity some mega builders. Wow such junk and a lot of it close to 500k+!! And people are buying it. The quality is trash. Not sure how anyone can go with any of these builders such as Pulte, Toll Brothers, Ryan Home’s, etc. what’s funny is that they all have terrible reviews and people still flock to them... makes me scratch my head. Anyone notice this as well?
In my area the primary builders are Lennar, Maracay, DR Horton, and Fulton. They all seem to have decent quality to the models... but then again, they are the models. I've visited a few units which are almost ready to be sold and they seem to be built alright. Not sure what "quality" issues you're talking about. "Quality" is so subjective.
But in general, you should expect to pay over market pricing for a new home. Just because of it's new construction-never-lived-in-before status. It's not surprising if you can find an equivalent house (sq footage/neighborhood) for quite a bit less $/sq ft.
Like so many purchases in life, many people have champagne tastes and beer money. You end up buying a Ryan home because that's what you can afford. Want something better? plenty of custom builders out there that can build whatever quality and amenities you're willing to pay for.
In the market for a house and checked out of curiousity some mega builders. Wow such junk and a lot of it close to 500k+!! And people are buying it. The quality is trash. Not sure how anyone can go with any of these builders such as Pulte, Toll Brothers, Ryan Home’s, etc. what’s funny is that they all have terrible reviews and people still flock to them... makes me scratch my head. Anyone notice this as well?
You pointed out the reason. There is a huge demand for the new construction, cookie-cutter look. And mostly it is the people with money that prefer that look. I had a few friends (very good 6-figure salaries) that were looking to buy, and they said they will only buy new construction. Neither of the people in-reference know much about houses. They just want an updated, modern, clean, new-looking house. They are planning on dropping the money for it without hesitation.
I think they go for those mega builders because they are the market the most. Many people who can afford (I admit I am stereotyping, so I could be wrong) aren't going to bother searching for the best builders. They probably like going with a brand name.
Like so many purchases in life, many people have champagne tastes and beer money. You end up buying a Ryan home because that's what you can afford. Want something better? plenty of custom builders out there that can build whatever quality and amenities you're willing to pay for.
In my area (DC), this means that you can buy a Ryan home for $700,000, or you can get a custom-built home for $1.5 million.
The demand in my area (Phoenix) seems to be all over but older established areas are seeing a lot of upward pressure so a lot of people are selling. Some of that is location and some is the fact that older parts of Phoenix are typically green and lush.
My home was built in 1970 it’s masonry block and seems to be quality construction. Some owner in the chain did some sloppy upgrades but that’s not on the builder obviously. I hate newer cookie cutter construction in the SW. It’s just so bland and makes me fee clusterphobic. I like the shorter one story ranch homes. You can see more of the sky and nobody can see in your yard.
The issue with older homes is the problems for the eras like cast iron plumbing, PB plumbing, PEX, clay sewer lines, aluminum wiring (which I have), asbestos, etc so pick your poison
The demand in my area (Phoenix) seems to be all over but older established areas are seeing a lot of upward pressure so a lot of people are selling. Some of that is location and some is the fact that older parts of Phoenix are typically green and lush.
My home was built in 1970 it’s masonry block and seems to be quality construction. Some owner in the chain did some sloppy upgrades but that’s not on the builder obviously. I hate newer cookie cutter construction in the SW. It’s just so bland and makes me fee clusterphobic. I like the shorter one story ranch homes. You can see more of the sky and nobody can see in your yard.
The issue with older homes is the problems for the eras like cast iron plumbing, PB plumbing, PEX, clay sewer lines, aluminum wiring (which I have), asbestos, etc so pick your poison
Yes. Most younger people who are looking to buy, do not even consider older homes. Because of the many “unknowns” that may not be discovered during inspection, most just don’t want to chance it.
Most just like modern, ready-to move-into homes, even at the cost of being “boring.” In some places like the DC area where my family and many friends live, they will actually pay more for modern townhomes (or in some cases condos) than a SFH with a yard because they don’t even want to have to deal with the upkeep of lawn/property. They are bland as ever, but they are turn-key and they come off the market instantly because many people with money like that.
Yes. Most younger people who are looking to buy, do not even consider older homes. Because of the many “unknowns” that may not be discovered during inspection, most just don’t want to chance it.
Most just like modern, ready-to move-into homes, even at the cost of being “boring.”
I really doubt if it's "most", new home sales are what, just about 10% of the market? And even then, I'm sure it depends on the local area.
Our kids all bought older homes, in fact, one was over 100 years old.
In my local area, the under 30 crowd is engaging in minor bidding wars over 40 year old ranch houses in 'good' school zones. It's a beach area with a lot of vacation homes where the government also owns 90% of the land where people actually want to live, and affordable new construction involves a 60 minute commute to work and beach.
The new 1800 sf ranch house within 20 minutes of everything useful will cost $450K+, which is not something many first time buyers can afford down here given median salaries. But the older ranch house on the quarter acre lot (that expensive new construction home is on a 50'x90' piece of land) that can be had for about $300K or so does sync better with area wages. During peak selling season this year, we were getting multiple flyers and cards a week from local realtors begging us to list our nothing special 40 year old ranch house with them because they knew they'd be able to get a nice commission out of it with pretty much no effort.
Yes. Most younger people who are looking to buy, do not even consider older homes. Because of the many “unknowns” that may not be discovered during inspection, most just don’t want to chance it.
Most just like modern, ready-to move-into homes, even at the cost of being “boring.” In some places like the DC area where my family and many friends live, they will actually pay more for modern townhomes (or in some cases condos) than a SFH with a yard because they don’t even want to have to deal with the upkeep of lawn/property. They are bland as ever, but they are turn-key and they come off the market instantly because many people with money like that.
Not really my point. Most young people in Phoenix are buying in Central Phoenix, North Tempe or South Scottsdale and those homes are all 1950s-1980s ranch homes.
New home sales here are driven by people who need a lot of house for not a lot of money and decent schools and don't mind living in the boonies.
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