Why a New Build Is a Better Deal Now (Realtor.com)

Rapidly rising rents recently nudged Dan Raymond and Casey Juntila to wonder if they should try to buy a house instead.

“We looked around and realized [rent was] the same as a mortgage, even with the inflated rates and higher home prices,” Raymond recalls.

The couple, who are engaged, work as researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and wanted to live in the suburbs. Yet while they could swing a monthly mortgage payment, they hadn’t amassed much savings to put toward a down payment or closing costs. As a result, their house hunt dragged on for three months with no affordable prospects in sight.

That’s when their real estate agent, Charo Ledon of The Home Buyer’s Agent of Ann Arbor, suggested they consider an option that they presumed was beyond their financial reach: a brand-new house.

Intrigued, Raymond and Juntila, both 28, started shopping for new construction—and were surprised to find one they loved that fit their budget for $265,000.

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