You would have lost $25K by backing out but now you are considering having to take $20-30K to a closing if you sell (and then there is the realtor fee, you would be competing with folks buying 'brand new' from the builder); better make a list of pros and cons.

New-beginning: well the $20-30k includes Realtor fees and closing costs. And assumes getting about $25k less than what I paid for it. From the day at they presented me it basically looks like I’d be selling for about $10k less than the builder sells similar size homes for before upgrades. I also added a rather significant amount of money in plantation shutters. Obviously I’m losing a lot of money (my down payment plus $20-30k).

The only pros I’ve got thus far to staying is 1) don’t have to mess with moving and 2) don’t lose a substantial amount of money.

Sell it. I lived in a home I hated for 7 years, just to avoid selling at a loss. It was a gorgeous home, but not the right functional space or style for me. Then we had to sell it for a job move, and lost over 150,000 anyway because of the market conditions at the time. I live in a smaller, older home now that I absolutely love, It just feels right.

If learning a $30,000 lesson is within your means; then living in a home where you feel at home, is priceless.

That's too much to lose. Can you just close your eyes and learn how to bear, wait for the market to go up?

Chocolatesnap - that’s what I’m worried of. I don’t want to try to “ride it out” only to lose just as much or more money down the road. Thanks for your input on your past experience.

Summersrhythm - it is a lot to lose, and it’s something I don’t take lightly. I mean could I close my eyes and just be numb to the whole thing???...of course. But I guess that just doesn’t feel right to me. If I lived in a quickly appreciating market I probably wouldn’t even consider selling at such a loss. But, in my suburban area, even when the market is strong, values don’t go up quickly. My last house (in the same zip code) went up 12% in value from 2014 to 2019. I do appreciate the feedback though, as the thought of losing so much money is unsettling, to say the least.

@JGGM, it isn't unusual for a seller to lose money if they put their home on the market right after purchasing it especially when it is a newly built home. By right after, I mean within 12 months (typically). Builders get top dollar. Much of the extra "value" is perception by the general public that a new home comes without problems. This isn't true of course but it is the general market perception.

Each market is different. You mentioned that you spoke to two agents. Contact more. There are buyers out there that are willing to purchase a new home that is only 7 months old for slightly less than what the builder offers that same home with the same upgrades because they can see what they get. Plus the home is already up and has window treatments and other items that the builder doesn't offer. Presumably the builders warranty transfers to the new buyer. You can mitigate some of your closing costs by having the buyer pay some of them. After all, the builder pushes ALL of his closing costs over to the buyer. ETA: Are there any other resales in your neighborhood now competing with the builder? If so, have any closed yet? The agents you interview should be able to point to those resales and the market. Even if there aren't any resales - you stand a good chance of selling it to someone that simply doesn't have the time to wait for one to be delivered by the builder.

I am of two minds about your sale. The first thought is to stick it out to mitigate any losses. The second thought is to sell it and get out of a mistake eg: cut your losses. Only you know which will work for you over the long term,

You can renovate the house, but there's nothing you can do about the neighbourhood. Every year, it seems, I write off that amount or more in business deals gone south. It's the overall picture that counts. (Currently in 13th home since 1980; moving as a lifestyle.)

Denita - your bring up a good point about closing costs. I hadn’t considered that. I know when I bought the house I had to pay for title insurance, which on resale homes here is typically a seller paid cost. And, I think you could also be correct with people not being able to wait for construction. It’s a neighborhood of 700 homes. There’s been some resale in the 3-4 year old section and both realtors wanted to price my recent construction with those, but I’m of the mindset that (all else being equal) the newer home should be worth a little more. I also paid a $10k lot premium for cul-de-sac and upgraded to an all-brick Exterior, no siding. I have another agent who came highly recommended meeting with me next week.

Summers - I actually own a rental house already (it’s paid for) and I’ve considered renting this one out, I just don’t know how that affects my ability to buy another house. I might be calling the mortgage broker I use to bounce the idea off her.

Worthy - agreed. If I go through with this, I’ll be buying in the old neighborhood, and just know that I’ll probably be in for a complete remodel.

Sounds like you have options available to you.

I'm a Realtor and we aren't all the same by any means. Some of us know certain extras will result in a boost to your bottom line and other extras don't add anything at all. IMO you chose wisely by selecting a lot in a cul-de-sac. You will find buyers that love them (cul-de-sac's) and others that hate them, but that is the nature of the business. The same goes for a full brick exterior as opposed to the front is brick and the other three sides are siding material.

Interview your Realtors carefully most especially in this market. Have them show you their last 50+ recent sales (or whatever) so you get a feel for their ability to price appropriate to the property and to the market.

One caution: don't rely on automated valuation models (eg Zillow zestimates and similar). If an agent can't show you how they arrived at the proposed price, then I would be wary.

It sounds like you know yourself and you know you want to leave. Call the realtor and get it listed now. there may be people who will take yours over new since it’s move in ready, and lightly used. Who knows what’s around the corner with the housing market. I say get out now and just chalk it up to a lesson learned. You deserve to be happy. Plus things are hopping this week for other sellers on the board, it might be a great time to sieze the moment and grab an eager buyer facing short supply.

We are in the same boat as you. We bought this house 9 months ago in a rural area & I cannot stand it here. The house is great, it is everything else. I am surprised how fast it went up here, I just hope it holds. Crazy times. One idea for you - After buying & selling 6 homes, we learned staging, using a real estate attorney and paying a realtor/broker a small fee to get it on the almighty MLS, sign, lock box, appt. app. & doing the rest ourselves. I like hiring a good photographer/ video. It requires some digging and more time, but many options and negotiate w realtors out there now. This will save you a lot of money at closing. (FSBO statistically does not work, so don’t have FSBO on your MLS). The tricky part is the buyer realtor. We usually offer 2-2.5%, depending on the mkt., location etc...Remember, you the seller, are typically paying for both buyer and seller realtors at closing ( traditionally 5-6% of the selling price). Go for it. We are.

I guess I should clarify, not going for it until we are on more stable ground here w our economy.