No compromise on location at all. We wound up with a small city lot within a small city which is exactly what we wanted. Something walking distance to downtown.

We had looked for 2 years for an old house (1920's-40's era) but anything we found of the era had had all the character destroyed, was too small, or the rooms too choppy, too many stairs with nowhere to add an elevator (technically I guess you could call us seniors but I don't believe it), or the opposite was true in that it was too far from the area we wanted to be.

While our first choice will always be an old home, we are building a new craftsman for the reasons above. We also feel downtown will hold its value more too and while the lots are smaller (ours is a large 9000 square feet while most range from 5000-7000 square feet), the zoning is even stricter as to size, etc.

It must be regional. In California, many young families prefer new homes built in family developments. Safer for kids and school friendly. The inner cities have some character, but most have left for larger more open homes.

In CA the new home will have to have Solar, new electric requirements, low water usage, etc, etc. The existing home likely not so much.

Of course, none of these mandated items come for free.

The flip side is that presumably the existing (older) home will have higher energy costs.

For us it is more about price and location. So far we have bought old houses. But we are considering another move and I think we may buy new or newer this time around

The convenient neighborhood with good schools and old houses is a little out of our price range (either too pricey to start with or too much by the time we add on the remodeling costs to get a house to be what we want (new wiring and plumbing and roof often necessary)).

Other neighborhoods with old houses don't have good schools as best we can tell from online research and talking to people who live in the area

There are some other neighborhoods built in the 1980s through now that are also good locations (though not quite as good) with good schools that are more affordable.

I also have to admit that much as I love old houses, I'm a little burned out on projects. Last house we did the roof, furnace, a/c, kitchen and powder room and painted every room. This house we have done both bathrooms, the kitchen, roof, furnace, hot water heater, front yard, and re-wired and re-plumbed the whole house. So totally new and needing nothing sounds appealing.

I don't buy new and I don't remodel. I buy used that is pretty much turnkey. Location is my first priority and new developments are not where I want to live. I wouldn't like a cookie cutter development home and I'd have analysis paralysis making decisions for a custom home. I also think I get more for my money in a used home in terms of quality materials, finishing details, craftsmanship, etc. I couldn't afford all those things I want with new construction but I can with used. I'm not particular about having all the latest trendy stuff. I'm good with tasteful, high quality things that aren't necessarily popular now.

Turn key used is not always available. When we bought this house, there were thirteen houses on the market in the school district we wanted. None of them were turn key. The market we are now considering is somewhat similar. There have been a couple of presumably turn key in the older houses we have seen online, but they sell within a day or two.

(Also after doing two kitchen remodels and a lot of time on the kitchens forum here, I'm a total kitchen snob. Not for high priced stuff. But for layout and basic fuctional things like having actual ventilation over the cooktop. It's amazing how many people remodel kitchens into utter crap for function. I hate the idea of paying for a new, but lousy, kitchen remodel. )

I wanted to buy an older home, but in my area, older homes that have been maintained are either out of my price range or in rotten areas. And I didn't have the funds for a big renovation. So I ended up in a cookie cutter subdivision. And to be honest, my parents own a 400 year old house and my best friend owns a 100 year old home, and they are beautiful, but their maintenance costs are pretty high.

Saltidawg, I building a new home in CA right now, it doesn't have solar, can't comment on what electric requirement you mean, yes the fixtures must be low water usage..

I am building spec so I don't know who the new buyer will be, but I know many people love new and trendy. Right now contemporary is very popular so I'm building contemporary.

I'm sure I'm mistaken. It has been widely reported in the East that new construction in CA due to oppressive electrical costs and demand and massive water shortages have led to requirements for solar, increased insulation, low energy windows, etc, and low water landscaping. Particularly in SoCal.

I'm sure I'm mistaken. (Have to wonder why these reported requirements are bogus if these dire demands exist.) Maybe CA deserves what is happening? lol

Salti,

substitute high for oppressive and rationing caused by occasional droughts for massive, and that is the situation in So Cal. But if oppressive and massive were not used, it wouldn't have been news.

Come on man, what are your sources?

Maybe you should not depend on rumors, SaltiDawg - your information is incorrect, and your implication that California "deserves" a drought when the mega agricultural industry here sucks up 99% of our water and feeds most of the country.... that's just ignorant.

Back to the original question, I buy used and renovate. As someone else above said, I don't ever want to live in a new development. I prefer older established neighborhoods, their locations and all their quirkiness.

I personally don't like the look of most of the new builds I see, so it would cost me way too much for a complete custom home.

And yes, I do realize that buying used and renovating means I might not be as energy-efficient as a brand new build .. I can live with that.

Saltidawg - my build is in Southern California. I've lived in Southern California all my life, usually coastal cities. The weather is temperate,most people don't pay much attention to insulation or heating or AC costs. I'm not aware of oppressive electrical costs, of course the term may vary amongst people.

Moved here from San Diego. What are you paying per Kwh? No water restrictions?

Any new construction requirements for low water landscaping? New construction requirements for Solar?

I lived in San Carlos. A/C need was very rare. Gas usage was high during the summer to heat the pool above 72 degrees. However, 20 miles away A/C was very much needed and electric bills were high.

What do you pay per gallon for gasoline in San Diego? Where is that local refinery again?

Oh, how about the selection of commercial agricultural crops to minimize water requirements - or just blame the other guys. There are choices.

Again, what are you paying per Kwh?

"The average (residential) electricity rate in San Diego is
37.63% greater than the national average rate of 11.88¢/kWh."

Up to 80% of the salad greens grown commercially in the US come from the Salinas Valley. At some times of the year, it's 100%. Say goodby to your salads Salti.

In my area of Southern CA, the new builds are often adjacent to older communities so there isn't much difference in location, and the schools are shared. If you want to avoid HOA fees, have a larger yard (new are more likely to be under 5000sq'), or a private pool (in average-priced neighborhoods), you will most likely have to be looking at older homes.

Maybe SaltiDawg is referring to Title 24 for electrical. That applies for new builds and remodels, so many older homes have already complied if they have upgraded kitchens. Solar isn't required. I have no idea what the price of gasoline has to do with the thread topic.

I live in WI, and although it wasn't our intention, our last four homes have been new spec homes or newer home that was lived in before. We did make compromises on location for some, but not all. We have children in school so the last three were in good school districts, but two were out a bit far from other amenities.

In new builds, you have to establish everything, put in a lawn, landscaping, paint, window coverings, water softener, etc... There are a lot of out of pocket costs after taking ownership. Our current house was three years old, which was perfect. It had the amenities we wanted, in a good location (in town!) and all that extra stuff was already taken care of by the previous owners. All I have done is paint a couple rooms and added furniture.

In metro areas with more than let's say 2M people it can be hard to find new construction houses with commute times under 60 minutes each way. If you add in affordable it gets even harder. Some large metro areas are constrained by oceans or federal lands which prevents new growth in one or more direction (Southern CA is an extreme case of this but it happens in every coastal city to some degree). Yes there can be teardowns, flips, and infill developments closer to the city center but those are going to come at a cost. Lengthy commutes can really damage quality of life at work and home pushing people over into the existing home camp even if they really would prefer a new turn key house. There's no way I would do a 2+ hour commute round trip every day to get an affordable new construction house.

Me neither!

I guess, for some, that is an acceptable trade-off.

Like almost all real estate stuff, it's so local. The area we are currently looking at there is a trade off in location, but nothing as dramatic as a two hour commute. More like the difference between a 10 minute walk and a 15 minute drive.

And access to other amenities depends on your priorities. The new construction tends to come with access to a community pool in walking distance and access to a very nice bike path system, while the old houses are close to downtown for farmers markets and festivals. The "best" schools are in the new housing areas but some parts of the older section also have "good" schools.