Is it cheaper to buy or build a house and what would it depend on?

Answer 1

it depends on how much work you are willing to do. if you want to buy an old home that if fairly "used" you maybe could get a cheaper price, but if you want to do all the work on a newly built home that you could possibly do, you could save a lot of money. for example, my father in law is a logger and has figured out he could build a home for 20,000 that he could sell for over 100,000, of course you would have to buy the wood if you aren't a logger, but still, if you are willing to sweat you could make out like a bandit. good luck

Answer 2

Well, this is a hard comparison to make for several reasons:
1) Are they the same houses?
If the floor plan, quality of work, location, etc are not the same (or comparable), then it is very hard to compare the houses.
2) Are you starting from scratch or are you considering building in a plan, picking from one of several floor plan options? Starting from scratch would likely be more expensive than picking the floor plan you want in a new subdivision.
3) Since you probably need a loan to either buy or build, that gets tricky as well. A house loan (mortgage) is based on the house you plan to buy. You would need a construction loan to finance the construction as it is being done.
4) How much work can you do yourself? If you know what you're doing and can wire the house, or dig out the foundation, you'll be able to save some.


All in all, I think there is no reason to build (especially from scratch) unless you are going to do something special. The headaches you have, even going with a plan and a builder are legendary. You need to keep on them constantly.
You also have a higher risk, in that you are borrowing money for something that doesn't yet exist. If anything happens, you could end up paying on your loan, but not having anyplace to live. (At least for a few months or a year.)
I'm not sure that that answers your question, but these are some of the things you need to consider.

Answer 3

It's cheaper to buy a house because the price of the property is usually included in the price. Developers take the cost of buying the property which is usually a hefty amount and then you just have to buy the house and pay for utilities. If you build a house you have to buy the property, then build the house, so it costs you all that money for the house and the contractor, and the materials. It's a lot more money but you get exactly what you want.

Answer 4

Depends on what country you live in, what type of house you want and can afford to build and if the area where you wan t to live allows for private building of a home.

I know in California its practically impossible unless you are a millionaire to build yr own house and basically houses are built by real estate building companies that manage and do all the designing for mass selling.

Im sure there are places where one can still find land to buy and build yr home, in California and most assuredly states that don ot have a high population.

If you go to England bulding is impossible.
Its all very centuries old preserved and its lovely that way and there is no more room for any sort of building.

In Sweden there's lots of room but you cannot build you buy something that already exists there.
In Mexico there are beautiful coasts and states taht can bring you a mansion to exact taste and unparalleled quality and craftmanship and architecture for what you could pay in USA of a small but nice house in California. IN Mexico it would be a beautiful very large mansion.

I dont know of the rrest of the US states but it seems that unless you have so much money to do as you please , its hard to build yr own house . Granted you can go to Montana and build yr ranch! And still be cheaper than buy a hosue in California but you also need t consider other facts. are you retired? will you have continnous income? that way you knjow you wont loose yr home.

Answer 5

Im actually in the mist of the same problem as you because me and my significant other are also on the prowl for a house, its actually I beilive cheaper to buy a house then build one, because of the simple fact you can more then likely bargin down the price, and you save time (which is money) instead waiting for a house to be built. I had a relator offer me a house that could be built exactly like one we looked at that just got built for the same amount of money. At least when you buy a house already built you get to see...what your buying. It could turn out like my parents house. ...they rushed to finish the house and cut corners...Also did you know a builder tacks in at least 30 grand profit on any house! Im sorry I went off on a tangent...ive been in full house search mode latelty good luck. Hope that helps;

Answer 6

It depends on the location, but normally I think it would be cheaper to buy a house.

Answer 7

One of my friends went through this recently. She saved about $20,000 Canadian building a house with everything she wanted, than buying one and settling for some things she really didn't want. I don't know how it is in the States, but I think if you have the money to build a house, and make it how you want, then that's totally how you should go....you'll be so much happier!
Best of luck, and many blessings!
Melissa

Answer 8

Well it depends, a nice house brand new, it would be cheaper to build with a good contractor and a good location.

A good house in a bad location, you could get a house cheaper, my dad built his house for about 215,000 and sold it for 315,000.

Answer 9

Building is MUCH cheaper IF, big IF, you have immediate (on site) access to public utilities. If the utilities must be brought to your home, then it costs much more.

That's why, with homeowners insurance the house is rarely insured for the actual sales price, it is based on "cost replacement guarantee" meaning what it would cost to rebuild.

If you want to build in an existing subdivision or area with utilites on site, go for it. You get exactly what you want.

Good luck :)

Answer 10

It depends where the location is, materials used, permits for the location etc. , so you need to do some investigating into the specific area and what exactly you want out of a house.