When it comes to homeowners choosing which style of property they prefer, there’s an evident divide between those who favour new builds and those that prefer older properties instead. So, let’s break down the pros and cons of new builds vs older properties.
What’s the difference between an older property and a new build?
It’s first important to distinguish the difference between these two types of properties. An ‘old build’ home is a home that’s had at least one other owner, while a new build is a property that’s never been lived in. Despite some modern homes often being referred to as ‘new builds,’ if they have in fact been lived in (even by just one other person) they would instead be classed as an existing home.
Here are three of the main factors that homeowners debate when choosing between a new build and an older property:
Previous owners or not
It’s up to you whether you would prefer a home that has had previous homeowners or not. Many enjoy moving into a new build with no previous history because they can design the property completely from scratch to suit every part of their taste. However, others enjoy making use of the original features offered by older properties like decorative cornices in Edwardian homes and Victorian fireplaces and parquet flooring in others.
An older home is less likely to be suited to you than a new build, which means you might have to spend additional money refurbishing the property to make it work for you. The best way to decide if you would prefer a blank canvas or instead remodel some original home designs is to look around at some new build homes before comparing them to their older property counterparts.
Space
If you’re looking for more space, an older property will typically be a roomier home, as well as come with quirky nooks and crevices that offer innovative storage space. New builds will often look similar in layout and might be squished together as developers try to add as many properties as possible onto one patch. However, this does mean that new builds are often in brand new estates surrounded by other homeowners doing a similar thing to you. Slowly but surely, this means you’ll get to see your new community grow together as one.
Problems
While new builds will naturally be more energy efficient, older homes will be harder to insulate so more expensive to heat up. However, both new builds and older properties still have their problems – just in different ways. Older buildings might be more likely to come with issues like asbestos that need professional removal or other structural issues that need addressing, while problems in new builds can start to show early so you might need to identify and rectify issues as they arise. Studies show that new builds are currently selling significantly faster than older homes on the market, but at the end of the day, the choice between a new build and an older property is completely up to you – each option has its own pros and cons.
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