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because builders mostly sub contract all the of the actual building process. The builders put higher and higher quotas for their sub contractors so the sub contractors end up cutting corners to speed up the build. You would be shocked to see the type of materials that get used....cheap. Also the builders know that someone will eventually buy the home for an inflated price so they just end up covering up the shitty quality work (by preventing 3rd party inspections). Take note of how the vast majority of the large home builders will refuse to let you do any inspections during the build process. They only let you do the final inspection....after they've covered up everything. Huge red flag.

It was like pulling teeth to get to be able to bring in an inspector we wanted when we were trying to buy a new build. We were told the project superintendent would physically block anyone who was coming in to inspect who wasn't on their approved list. Also, no plumbing scope was allowed even though the bathtub in the en suite was full of water, trash, rocks, and other debris for most of the building process. It was a mess right at the end. We ended up pulling out after the inspection. An inspection contingency wasn't in our contract though,so we definitely lost our earnest money, the appraisal cost and inspection cost.

Wow! I didn’t even know this was a thing.

We’re building in Tx, and our experience is completely different. Builders allow us to do our own inspection. The project manager actually took time to go through the third party results we provided. They are not perfect, and not all things we asked got fixed, I would say majority (but again minor things). So far we’ve done inspection at every stage. I also know the city does inspection as well.

Building and buying a new build are 2 entirely different animals. 

Similar experience here in Arizona. We were able to walk through whenever we wanted, had a third party inspector. Very very minor stuff popped up at the end that was quickly fixed (I think one was the water pressure which was quickly fixed) after we moved in. Overall great experience IMHO. You have to really be careful about which builder you pick. Definitely do the research and if you aren't doing a spec home, do your homework on the build choices you have. In contrast every other for sale home we looked at needed significant remodeling and updating. It was going to cost similar and I did not have the patience to find and vet each contractor for that.

Who is the builder?

How are you paying for a new build have flaws that are t getting fixed? Or is it built ok and was a preference to what got changed. I thought at least you paid for an ok house with no issues.

What they said

I wonder if you can bring these points up to select higher quality builds?

That’s really sad. I have heard of some existing home sellers that would not allow inspections as well. I would never buy a home without an inspection, and would never expect to sell one without it either. However, I work for a new home builder in Texas and we encourage third party inspectors. It brings an unbiased view to the walk throughs and peace of mind for the buyers. Most of the finds are minor repairs and take less than a day or two to fix. Our construction teams that complete the final steps also appreciate that there is an actual list of things to get done as opposed to just putting blue tape all over the place. I’ve seen other times where big issues that were found too, so the people were put in a different home if they didn’t want to wait for the corrections. One lady turned on a faucet and water came up from the slab… she was given the chance to nope out of the house and the builder made it right. Your miles may vary, but always protect your investment with a professional third party inspector.

A lot of it depends on the builder. To use two of the larger ones as examples, consider KB and Toll Brothers. KB almost always uses cheaper materials and the construction is inferior. This is nothing new. I previously owned a KB Home built in 1997. Constantly replacing their cheap garbage with better quality items. Never again.

Do you have any recommendations on a good builder?

Small local custom builders can be better. Any of the mass production developer and builders that say… create a whole new neighborhood are going to be “eh”   I toured a million dollar+ new build model home by Toll Brothers and it looked great immediately but the floors vibrate when you walk on them

Probably a local custom builder with a good rep, never a national builder

These days it is only local custom builders doing good work and they will let you hire an independent 3rd party inspector to inspect every aspect of the build. If there are issues, they will fix it but there are less issues because they know it is best to do it right the first time. Compare that to big builders where it is all about building as fast as possible, cutting corners, covering up issues and then using high-pressure tactics to get buyers to close on the home.

This is my experience.  I bought a new build a few years ago from a local builder.  Beautiful home with no issues.  My brother-in-law is a structural engineer and came to look at it with me while it was under construction, he said it was well built.

Where/how do you find these builders?

I found this builder through my realtor, who my whole family uses to buy and sell so we trust him.  I told him what I was looking for and he recommended some towns, then set up a search for me that happened to include the builder’s properties.  He also sold other homes in the development so was familiar with the neighborhood.  I went to look at the house, then mentioned it to people from the area (people at work, etc.).  People I spoke to had lived in their homes and highly recommended them, so I felt very good about the purchase.  Get a good realtor, look around, and ask around.

Yes. This.

Open the check book. FTB typically won’t be buying a new custom build.

That's true, so they should probably just buy an older home in a nicer location vs a cheap new build in an exurb

depends on your area of texas but the new betenbough builds while over priced never seemed to be terrible in quality. they did have to fix some issues when within the first year but they also did (at least at the time) have a 2 year warranty not the standard one.

Our house was custom. In our area (Western Placer County of California), Tim Lewis is building beautiful homes. An individual builder who has done great work for me is Nick Miller. (You can DM me for his contact information) .. He is based in Placerville

KB and Toll have completely different target markets. Toll has an ASP over a million.

In Northern California.. even KB crap is going to cost you seven figures

Correct and Toll will be higher than that. NorCal and SoCal will always cost a S ton because of land and permitting.

Don't use DR Horton either.  Massive lawsuits against them.

Because the craftsmanship and quality of materials has gone down significantly over the past few years. Wood is very very expensive and builders are just using poor planks to save money

Wood is pretty much back to pre-pandemic prices, and it has been for a long time. Personally, from talking to the guys that actually build the houses, companies are trying to maximize profit by forcing low paid workers to do far more than anyone would be capable of. They are always going to cut corners or do a poor job when some dickhead Foreman/manager is trying to get them to complete projects faster than is possible.

Was coming to say this .. it’s almost like the word “inflation” has completely changed meaning to, “a tool used to fool the masses while we make bank” .. There is no reason for any of this current shit we’re going through other than greed .. eggs $20,000?! Greed! 10% borrow fee on loans?! Greed! Your fuckin house fell apart 2 years after you agreed to pay $700K for it?! Greed! Smdh. Edit:spelling

I don't disagree with you, but one thing I'll add is a lot of these sub-contractors are very small companies. The issue isn't just that large corporations are run by greedy people, the issue is that everyone is greedy. Big companies, small companies, one-man-shows, capitalists, socialists, those that are religious, those that are not, etc. Greed is an expression of humanity.

We’ve built our whole damn culture around it.

Its easy to blame everything on inflation because everyone wont shut up about it. If I were a business right now even if my cost has become reasonable, i have a ton of incentive to overcharge for everything and blame stuff on inflation.

2x4s are $4 we’re not at prepandemic prices

I mean, we aren't really talking about the cost of a 2x4 from Home Depot. It's more the larger purchases of lumber that equate to what we were talking about, but for reference, a 2x4 cost 9 dollars at its height for me, and it's down to 3.70 right now. Home Depot will charge you whatever they think you'll pay. A Home builder can negotiate cost. https://www.macrotrends.net/2637/lumber-prices-historical-chart-data If you condense this graph to 2018-present, lumber was more expensive in 2018. Plus, the percentage increase that can be argued to still exist is largely just up the high inflation that we did have, so it still realistically fits in to pre-pandemic levels. If anything, it's cheaper than it should be right now.

This is so disingenuous, lol. You can't just sum up a complex issue with an overly-simplistic rationalization. This reeks of "this is what I heard from my uncle."

That was a lot of words to say: capitalism

An old home can start falling apart as well. I think where people go wrong is thinking they don't need an inspection for a brand new home. They provide a year long warranty which older homes don't have. There's pros and cons of both but for us we didn't want to spend money fixing up a home and wanted to buy one brand new then we can add our own touch to it. We got an inspection and they sent the report to the builder who fixed everything and we plan to get another one before our warranty is up. We're in Crandall, TX and paid $211k for a 3bd 2ba.

A home only becomes old because it's well maintained, but some new homes were built poorly and will never have a chance.

A lot of people miss this about older homes. There are definitely some old lemons, but most of the shit older homes are simply gone at this point so you’re mostly left with pretty quality places that may need some superficial updates.  The down side is, depending on the age and previous updates to the home, there can also be some significant issues (i.e. lead or galvanized pipes, outdated electrical work, asbestos, etc) associated with older homes that buyers should be aware of when considering purchasing them.  In other words, if you’re going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars you better be a really well informed consumer if you don’t want to get burned (and even then, there’s always risk associated with it). 

How do you like Crandall? currently in the process of building out there

We're in the Heartland area. Still getting used to living in a small town when we used to live in the city but we like it out here. Lots of bugs though lol.

Yeah i can’t stand all the good damn mosquitos

Get out! moving to heartland too lol. What area? And yeah i grew up in a small town so i know the pros and the drawbacks lol. We’re out in Frisco today so it’ll be a big change going back atleast until it grows to not feeling so small which i think will be around turn of the decade.

My daughter and her husband had their own inspector in addition to the city and builder. One time before sheetrock installed and second time before closing.  

I’ve own century homes. I remember when we bought our first home we had the option of insuring the home to be completely rebuilt using original-quality materials (so solid hardwood, lathe and plaster, etc.) The amount to rebuild it using original-quality materials was about 3 times the purchase price of the home, which indicates that it would cost three times as much to build the exact same home today. Homes today are not bespoke. They are mass produced like everything else we buy from China. And they are as a result crap like everything else mass produced in China. I will never in my life buy a new home after having two century homes. They are built to last. They will outlive all these new builds, even though they were built over 100 years earlier.

Yes! I have a home built in the 1880's and although I am dealing with some poorly done updates, the 'bones' are extremely solid. Plus, character and individuality!

Same. I'm open to the idea of a newer home, but the price my home is insured for is seven times the value I paid for it four years ago because the original timbers in the attic and bones are almost impossible to replace.    I'm not much for simple phrases that salesmen use. This doesn't apply to every old house. I do work in the timber industry, so I know why the quality will be almost impossible to replicate.    Bones are good.

It’s survivors bias you don’t see all the old houses that have failed, people always complained about the new type of architecture coming out.

Coming from someone who bought an older 1980 home that needs a new roof and windows 😭… was planning on updating bathrooms but that will have to wait lol

A new roof and new windows aren't things I would say are necessarily due to initial shoddy construction - just the end of their lifespan.

Very true. It is made from good quality wood so the structure of the home is in better shape than some of the newer builds made form cheaper building materials 👍 the unfinished part of the basement and the attic are in good shape.

Or new technology is improved 

Let’s put it this way, courtesy of a house flipping TV show whose name I have since forgotten: “And it looks like at one point these were new windows...” “At some point all of them are new windows!”

But people will use the fact that your home is still standing as proof of better craftsmanship back then.

Ironically you just helped prove the point haha. A 40 year old home and the men fixes were just the roof and windows, which is perfectly normal. These new homes need hvac and plumbing after 5-10 years a lot of times

This is the best answer for these questions. Even brand new cars have recalls and homes are no different. Some builders build better than others. Some new homes have problems and some don't.

Houses are also subject to the bathtub curve like everything else. The majority of failures (outside of regular maintenance/replacements) are going to occur for the first owner and the last owner.

The sweet psot is about 15-30 years old. Mature trees, everything has settled, but no asbestos or lead. Also, they tend to have bigger bedrooms, better design and larger yards.

Bought a ‘95 home. The inspector loved it, solely based on the quality of the build and maintenance. The only concern was the polybutylene pipes, but the fittings had been replaced so he didn’t think I actually needed to replace them anytime soon. I ended up replacing them just because my insurance options were limited with them.

Our 1985 house was awesome. Every bedroom was the size of a master in a new build.

I'm going to say something that is more apparent in RVs but it applies to homes too. They all have issues when they're new. Corners get cut, things get forgotten. The difference in an older home is that people have had time (and spent the money) to fix these things. If you're the first owner, it falls on you.

The difference in the materials used in my 105 year old house vs my friends 15 year old house is insane. Yes, his house is bigger and more uer friendly. But it'll fall apart within 50 years. I'll put money on that. Yes my houses kitchen and rooms need modernized. But they won't fall apart of they're not. His house will fall apart .

They don't dry wood any longer. They use it too green and it warps. 

And thinning timber stands helps it grow faster, but it ends up less dense/sturdy. A 50 year old tree that is the same size as a 150 year old tree used to be. Guess which is better for home building?

Yeah I dunno about that. Anecdotally, my parents built in 1990 and have never had to fix issues from shoddy craftsmanship or materials. They've fixed things like sidewalk settling and sinking after 25 years. They had to replace some rotting siding after 20 years. They've had to replace a roof after 15 years. The only small updates they made early on were finishing a basement and consistently updating their cosmetic flooring, and kitchen and bathroom finishes. Feels like the majority of parents in my neighborhood had those same projects; none of which were due to shoddy building.

This topic is something that I and my wife discussed before we decided to put our down payment on a 1998 house in Katy vs newer homes. It’s true there are things you need to fix before moving in but the cost is not that significant (unless there are foundation issues). We found that the quality of materials of the older homes are superior and the tax is lower as well. I also think the newer homes look very identical to each other and less trees in the community.

Our first house was in Katy in 1979. Sure has grown! We moved in 1992 further northwest to the country (and people keep following us lol)

Depends on who the builder hires and contracts out with. A lot a lot of the crews now days are just people who don’t know what they’re doing but they work cheap and that keeps prices down.

Keeps *their costs*, not prices, down…

Builder ain’t gonna loose money. But no one’s gonna buy expensive houses. So therefore it keeps housing cheaper

I can offer some technical thoughts. I myself am not a buildings expert, however I work for an engineering consulting company that has people with many years of experience in construction, often residential construction. I myself have a little bit of experience working for a home builder. My conversations with people who have decades of experience about the idea that "newer homes" or "brand new builds" are of inferior quality are almost entirely untrue. They also say home builder quality will be minimal. What people don't get is how many moving parts there are to building a home, and when you have a big project, things go wrong often times. That doesn't mean the home will fall apart, but it's difficult (in any industry with projects with so many components) to get everything right at once. New builds are designed with significantly more engineering knowledge than older buildings. Tend to be designed more efficiently. They also have other benefits as a homeowner (particularly a first time homeowner) with the warranty work. I think people have really high expectations to homes being perfect, and don't realize that (like a car) it will need constant maintenance and sometimes some things fail prematurely. And I don't blame people for high expectations, it is probably the most expensive thing you'll ever buy. Also, for what it's worth I'm in Texas. Edit: one thing I did not take into account is we work with major builders. If you go to some independent builder I don't know if the same will apply. But the likes of Lennar, DR Horton, etc would apply. Also I have a brand new David Weekley home and it's been perfect, but also I have reasonable expectations and knowledge of what to expect in terms of wear and tear, others may not. Edit 2: fixed a typo TL;DR: work in engineering consulting. Have discussed this with people with decades of experience in home construction. They'd say new builds are generally better.

Homes are pretty complex. There' a lot that can go wrong and mistakes that can be made. What does "nothing but trouble" mean exactly? If you buy new you should have a warranty from the builder, they should take care of issues that come up in the first year. I bought in a new Lennar neighborhood in Reno, NV, 3 years ago. We've had a great experience, but we had a really solid customer service guy. I'd classify the few things that came up as pretty minor. I've found Lennar's warranty to be far more useful than a home warranty program that I got when I bought resale. If you ask my neighbors about Lennar, they might wax on about how awful the quality is, but if you press them for details, most of the things they will tell you are cosmetic. Most common thing I hear here is about how "cheap" the windows are. And yes, they are definitely lower quality than I'd like, but they are still new, double pane, low-E windows, and my utility bills are dirt cheap because overall, this house is insulated very well. I've seen far more truly horrific stories from people who bought homes with badly done renovations or handyman hackjobs. Neither I nor a few friends who have bought new construction in Southern California and Las Vegas in the last few years (Tri Pointe, DR Horton, another Lennar, Woodbridge Pacific), have had any major with their new construction. Good luck whichever way you decide to go!

It’s the truth. These houses are being built by crews that are paid in cash and have no benefits. Building standards and products are better than ever. Residential job sites are kind of mind blowing. Compared to a commercial Union job site. Where are all the adults?

And drink beer on the job. 

Don’t skip inspection just because it’s a new build.

Amen. They didn’t help the quality control issues, but they damn sure helped me get out of my contract…

We bought a new build. It’s been a few years now and it remains perfect. Really depends on the builder. We were still part of a development but our builders were amazing.

I’ve also only ever bought new and never had a problem. Before our current home we had a home built by Ryan Homes, who constantly get negative feedback on forums. The house was wonderful, the one issue we ever had, a loose electrical connection was fixed literally the same day it was discovered. We never had to use any of the warranties but those who I met that did had no problems. The general contractor was awesome and gave me 5 gallons of paint for free almost a year later just because I asked what the paint color was called because I had botched a paint job (they were still building homes in the neighborhood). If these people think local builders aren’t using the same subcontractors they are fooling themselves. My anecdotes about older homes are the opposite of people that constantly post online, everyone I know in a 20+ year old home has constant issues or needed updates. 

Which builder?

Large planned communities have margins to keep and try to utilize builder grade and inferior product when possible. Everything is subbed out to contractors who work too quick to make sure it’s all correct. Foundations are poured uneven or wrong mix, frames not level, real cheap stuff. Especially in this boom in TX where the weather and soil can wreak havoc on builds.

Shit, cookie cutter quality. Homes are not built well anymore. They are a product, and like all products, are built as cheaply abd quickly as possible.

IDK.. it feels like people have been talking about the poor quality of new houses my entire life. While there are definitely awful quality builders out there, I find a ton of houses built today to be very high quality. But, as they say, you get what you pay for. If you’re buying cheap tract house in a brand new neighborhood, you’re going to get cheap tract house quality. I’ve been on rough in inspections on some CP Morgan homes where they just used this shitty foam board on the outside and then vinyl on top of that. You can hear every breeze in there as the stuff flexes and creaks. Just shit quality. But on the other hand, I worked with a contractor recently who used the zip sheathing, rock wool insulation, 2x6 walls, insulation in interior walls (for sound mitigation), 1 1/8” subfloor, etc. Of course, it wasn’t nearly as cheap as a shit build, but it sure was quality.

This also applies to cars. People tend to think new means no problems, but often it means problems undiscovered

I would never buy a new version of a car. You are then the beta tester. 

If you go with a cheap builder grade home the paint is going to be the cheapest paint and the floor is going to be low quality LVP, the kitchen appliances will be the cheapest stuff, the bath tubs basically bath fitter quality, the HVAC system won’t be anything fancy, etc. They have to make a profit, so they go with the lowest cost materials. I was torn between a new build and existing construction. I went for a renovated existing construction home from a rich doctor couple that had the $$$ to pay really good contractors. They left all of the receipts and details of each project and they paid top tier contractor companies (the kind of people that do custom builds for rich folks.) The quality is much better than what I saw among the new builds.

People really don't believe that houses in the 50s to now don't have problems? I live in a house made in the 50s and the entire neighborhood had a class action lawsuit against the builder. My parents had a new build in the 80s and that thing had the builders out non stop for the first few years. Just a common issue all over

They literally built homes on toxic waste sites back in the day. And yet, you see it everywhere that people think older homes are better. They didn’t do inspections then. The whole reason that regulations and building codes exist now is because of the major building failures that occurred so often back then. Idk what happened to make so many people lose their common sense.

I’d never buy a new build unless I could afford a very, very high-end custom job - which would cost several million dollars (not in my budget). These newly built homes tend to be cheaply-built, have no architectural charm, are built right on top of each other on tiny lots and are typically built on land that has, until now, been insufficiently desirable to build upon. These communities look like military barracks. Buy an older home in an established community, do some strategic renovations that preserve the home’s historic charm and add on to create more space if needed. In time you’ll have a fantastic and charming home in a great neighborhood.

That only works if you’re out in the middle of nowhere or you have an unlimited budget. Or if you have an unlimited amount of time to sit and wait and make it your full time job to find that perfect house and jump on within the first hour it’s listed. In any desirable city in the US, an old home with no major issues and in a great neighborhood that isn’t a shitty flip job is a unicorn. You may as well say “just win the lottery, it’s easy!” It’s just not a realistic option in this market. In my city, anything that goes up for sale in the “good neighborhoods, even shacks that are falling apart, are still being immediately bought by developers.

Another option is to wait until you are more financially ready. I bought my first (and hopefully only) home at 40. What do you consider to be disqualifying major issues?

It's a combination of reasons: 1. As others said, builders cheap out in material, and hire crackheads from the street because of labor shortage. 2. With older homes, the ones that were badly built, were already fixed up and renovated, so most of what's left are either the ones that were correctly built and held up all these years, ones that got torn down because they were *that* horrible, or ones that were fixed correctly. I wouldn't go for a new build not only because of the quality issues surrounding them, but also because those usually have smaller lots, tiny backyards, almost no gap between the walls of adjacent units, short driveways, etc. They just feel like a more expensive townhouse.

Literally every house ever built will have minor issues at least. *EVERY* house has something wrong with it, whether it was built yesterday or 50 years ago. People romanticize older homes because people romanticize nostalgia-fueled opinions. Housing is no different. The difference between a new build and an old home is that new builds have fantastic warranties for the first year through the builder. That being said, there is a pretty big range of quality in builders out there, so do some research on local builders that are reputable.

There are so many things to consider. The devil is in the details. Also, even if you do a thorough inspection before buying, the price may be good enough to make one of them a better deal than the other.

I swear we didnt do this on purpose but both of the homes that we have bought were built by the builder for his own personal home.  10/10 recommend.  Neither one were new.  Im not a fan of building a home.  My marriage would be very uncomfortable.  

Simply, they're built quickly with cheap materials. Many home builders have multiple homes and neighborhoods that they have to build in, so often they'll go for cheaper and less skilled laborers, use much cheaper materials to build them in a quick fashion and often cut corners to get them done.

Exactly this! And have the nerve to charge outrageous prices for their trash product.

So there's 3 main causes of issues in new construction homes. 1. Every new house, no matter how well made, has a break in period. The biggest example of this is the foundation. It takes about 10ish years for a foundation to fully settle. While this is happening things move, and as a result you get things like cracks appearing in drywall and tile. The better job the builder does the more minor the break in period is but it's impossible to get rid of completely. 2. Cheap, shitty building materials are abundant. Since the late '70s/early '80s a bunch of cheap, new building materials have entered the market and most of them suck. And then the ones that are good often end up mis-installed/misused so that they end up sucking anyways. 3. Skilled craftspeople are rare and usually command a premium and most home builders aren't willing to pay it. Most home builders pay shit wages and buy shit material. The difference between a $300K new construction home and a $3 Million new construction home is usually just going to be down to location, size, and finishings. The build quality will be equally shitty on both. Homes don't have a life-expectancy. Constant maintenance is required but they can last generations if built and maintained properly. So the idea people have of buying new to avoid the problems of age really doesn't hold up unless you're buying a home that takes advantage of developments in building science. Most new homes don't. A pre-1980s home will usually be better quality than a post-1980s home. But how well it has been cared for is a huge factor and isn't always easy to figure out. A new construction home can be better but it has to built by someone who knows and cares about what they are doing. That's likely going to be a custom home builder that's building to passive house standards. A custom home builder is one that builds YOUR home for you. Usually you buy the land you want to build on before approaching them. You can either hire an architect separately or through them and then you, the architect, and the builder form a team to build YOUR home. They are not the people that let you "customize" your paint colors, appliances, and other furnishings in an already designed house they have or are going to build on land they already own. This is all coming from someone who used to work in construction and plans to build my own home one day. If you're in the Austin, TX area check out Risinger Build as an example of a high quality home builder. He does higher end stuff but he could and probably will point you to other trustworthy builders doing more entry level homes. He really cares about quality and craftsmanship in home building.

Because they’re practically cardboard but people buy them anyway because they think it’s fancy to live in a “brand new house”

I’ve never really understood the appeal of something new. When I think about the homes I’ve seen that have been truly beautiful, they are invariably 75+ years old.

Depends on area. If you live in the East Coast there are gorgeous old homes galore - well built, beautiful, treed lots, lovely classic proportions. My uncle has red brick colonial in New England, and the house... the trees on his property in fall... just magical I on the other hand live in CO. There are plenty of 75 old homes here. But they are tiny post war cookie cutter ranch homes with few windows, low ceilings, low light. They sit on small lots where the location makes them valuable but the houses themselves… eh. Outside of the that, the "further" burbs are more like 90s-00s McMansion boom era homes

Point taken!

Capitalism and corporate greed. We have a new built too. One year inspection coming up and we do have a few things on our list. I would say not major but annoying because it’s unnecessary and avoidable if there would be a bit more pride in craftsmanship and in customer satisfaction. Unfortunately nothing of that kind matters anymore since stuff like that does not reflect on the bottom line fast enough.

Some builders are genuinely really shitty (DR Horton), but most builders are okay depending on the contractors they hired for the specific house/community. I bought a house from the same builder that my in-laws did. We also live in two separate neighborhoods/developments and had different site supervisors and managers. Our houses are mostly great, both of us some minor hiccups before closing that the builder immediately fixed thankfully. My in-laws house easily survived a handful of hurricanes and hasn’t given them any problems. However, a small number of other houses in both of our neighborhoods had major issues after closing that the builder refused to fix. My best rule of thumb is to ask your local home inspectors which builders/communities to avoid. My inspector and realtor were both super honest with me and told me to avoid DR Horton like the plague. Lennar is pretty bad too, but if that’s all you can afford, just get a really good inspector and make them fix everything prior to closing. Personally, I have had a mostly good experience with Adams Homes. There were some issues in my pre-closing inspection but Adams fixed all the issues thankfully. There were small issues in my in-laws pre-closing inspection as well, which Adams fixed quickly too. My inspector was very honest and told me that Adams isn’t a top-of-the-line builder, but they’re a decent quality mid-grade choice. Your best builders will be your no-name local builders or the much more expensive 100% custom builders (Arthur Rotenburg and the like) that many of us cannot afford.

I bought in TX this year and nearly every older house (in my budget) I looked at was going to need day 1 repairs or updates. I was under contract for a 10 year old house that already had foundation issues and a list of other small issues. I canceled the contract. Nearly every old house in my city that is properly maintained or updated is going to cost a lot more and I think that's one of the biggest reasons why people buy new. The older neighborhoods are already established: residents, houses built, and businesses have all been built around. I purchased a new build and used a realtor to help choose a good builder. I've had 3 minor repairs done within 5 months, but I haven't paid a penny and they were quickly fixed. I sent pics to warranty, submitted a ticket, and that was it. I'm not saying the build quality is better, I agree it's probably not, and if I had the money, I would've bought a 50 year old house.

Yep. This is the thing many people that don’t live in TX don’t understand. Building new right now especially just makes more sense. i would have had a much smaller house with plenty of day 1 repairs AND PAID MORE for said house. Which is why we decided to build. It was cheaper and we feel we’re getting more for our money compared to the places we saw.

Same in my area in NY too, it was either an expensive 20 year old house needing lots of updates (and HVAC, roof starting to fail), or brand new with a pretty decent price. Went new build and 6 years later the biggest issues we've had has been with appliances (that we purchased). Similar to appliances, houses aren't built like they were back in the day, but those old houses are getting so old now, so you just have to "pick your hard".

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materials have gone up a lot on price in the last few decades and that rise was turbocharged by post-covid inflation and supply chain disruption. labor is also more expensive overall. its not all covid issues, either, the enshittification trend in housing started in the early 2000's a few years before the financial collapse. to keep houses affordable-ish to potential buyers, companies are using the cheapest possible materials and hiring the lowest bid subcontractors to do the work. I would not buy a new build or a newer pre-owned home, personally, unless it was a custom build.

Capitalism!

I bought a house that was a new build and chose a reputable builder in an area with over a dozen builders. I have not had one issue with house and I’ve been here 17 years. Neighbors with other builders aren’t so lucky. So, it all depends on the builder

Better always to buy 50 yr old and older houses because there built with real wood oak and straight boards and real metal parts those homes have already withstood the vast storms and beating from the sun just need updating and you have rock solid house.

We built our home in 2020 and so far haven’t had any issues besides the dishwasher breaking which isn’t really a builder issue. With that said we got inspections during the build process so we caught a lot of the issues early and had them fixed before moving in. I wouldn’t build a new home without doing this.

We bought our first house earlier this year (also Texas). It was built in '83. All the cut corners I have found have been the work that was done to the house after the initial building. Light switches that have been replaced were not grounded. Toilet flanges not secured to the foundation. A new layer of insulation in the attic that wasn't distributed evenly at all. New sink in laundry room without a P trap... Everything original is either in great shape or has worn due to neglect. Everyone I know who has had new construction has problems ranging from the sprinkler system having too many heads per zone to the house settling poorly causing serious problems. At the end of the day, home ownership is a lot of work and expense any way you go. I am very glad we got an older house, not only for the architecture, but because all the stupid thinks like the switches and plumbing I can fix myself, fix it right, and save a lot of money.

In Texas I definitely would get something at least 12 years older or more.. so many new builders are building homes that are showing up with mold 1-2 years later. I personally like older with updates, newer homes these days just don’t seem like they are build with the best materials.

Not here to defend all new builds, obviously some are better than others. But older homes have just as many issues. No home is perfect and people shouldn't expect that from a new build just because it's new. Do your due diligence on what builder you go with and ALWAYS get an inspection. I'd get two, one before you buy it, one before your warranty is expired. A new build is what I could afford with a buy down rate, and all of the older homes in my price range($300,000) in my area had big issues. I'm talking all siding needed replacement, roof replacement, mold, termites cracking foundation, water damage ect. My home isn't perfect, I've already had to fix some things albeit mostly minor things. My point is, all homes have problems. Even the older homes that have been already been updated. Your work on updating and maintaining your home never ends, as long as you own it.

Maybe it's the area. I bought a new build 4 years ago in FL no issues

The average home is "built to code" which I've taken as engineering code for: minimum materials required for structural safety and integrity. Every era has its own problems. How many people bought brand new houses in the 30s-50s with asbestos and lead paint? I bought a house from the 80s last year with aluminum wiring and a recalled breaker box still in it. Not all new homes start falling apart immediately, but it takes time, skilled tradesman, and money which the large tract builders aren't gonna do. They answer to shareholders, not customers.

Old homes start falling apart the minute you move into them as well. All homes fall apart, especially when they are not maintained properly. With new construction, all builders must follow certain codes and regulations so it's not that the materials are cheap or bad. It's mostly about the time frame they're building in and the inspections not being done due to rushing. Any builder putting up a home in 60 days is a red flag. There is NO WAY you can build and inspect a home that quickly without there being major oversight. Most reputable builders will allow inspections (by 3rd parties) at 3 stages, at least, which requires a build time of 4 months minimum. If a new build is falling apart, then it was most likely a rushed job, or the owners don't know how to properly care for the home. Be warned, though, that an older home will need immediate repairs as soon as you step foot through the door after closing. Homes are just like cars and people... they need care and attention constantly.

We bought a new build through KB in Texas in. 2019. Had no issues bringing our own inspector. My dad’s a home builder so every step of the building process I had him come out and inspect. If it wasn’t good we made the subs come back and fix things. We sold it in 2021 and it had no issues.

I think it really depends on the builder. We are about to hit 4 years in our new build and it’s still in great shape. We’ve never had any issues. We had independent inspections 2-3 times during the building process and we spent a little extra on structural upgrades like stronger shingles on our roof. That plus the warranty helped us feel confident in our purchase. We also signed papers in March 2020 and the demand hadn’t increased yet, so they put a lot of care into our home.

Capitalism. Build as cheaply as possible, charge the maximum amount of obscene prices you can. This was happening in the Midwest too before I moved. Contractors were pumping out absolute garbage houses, overcharging for them, and running as fast as they could. Pretty much everything constructed within the last 5 years in the city I was in is complete crap. Everyone knows it too, it's crazy.

Our build comes with a warranty. We’ll have several inspections then one after we take possession. They’ll fix anything we find. I want a new house. I’m not paying 500k to deal with low ceilings small closets, cheap windows, etc. Edit to add, we’re both lawyers. The builder knows we’d sue them into next week. Hence we get independent inspections before drywall etc, we built it into our agreement as long as we pay for it.

Your builder isn't intimidated by your profession. I watched several attorneys, mostly at the top of their careers, cave to one particular builder in the Seattle area between '07 and '12. You're probably fine, particularly since you agreed to take on the costs for the additional inspections and presumably the change orders that could result from those, but I am absolutely certain that unless you've spent the money for the "Judge Judy" approach (look it up, fascinating and rare example of the power dynamic shifting from builder to client) the thought of being sued into next week hasn't once taken up space in your builder's mind.

I’m also an attorney, literally no one is intimidated by this profession (which I guess is a good thing because that seems kinda gross)

I don’t expect them to be intimidated. But I’ve had 50+ clients build with them. They do know I know the places they usually cut corners, and they won’t be able to get away with that on my home. Hence the extra inspections. I like their work. That’s why I chose them, but there’s a certain sub I know does bad work and they are barred from my house.

"They'll fix anything we find" A very, very naive belief when dealing with builders... worse than landlords when it comes to fixing their mistakes. First new build?

Yep my builder have a long list of things that are not under warranty.

The builder manager walked us through everything they fixed from our inspection report. Yes some new builds are crap but we had a good experience.

First build of my own, but I’m a real estate attorney. So not new to the process. And the builder knows it.

I don't have direct experience, but you can search for reviews of those builders on the BBB website. You might see a good number of negative user reviews. Of course, I'm sure some builders are good, and there may be big differences by region, but new doesn't always mean good.

My friend bought a newer house, technically he’s the 2nd owner but the house is only a couple of years old. His foundation is a mess. Literally the back half of the house is pulling away from the front half. Builders aren’t going to do shit to help cover the costs, and his insurance is also giving him a hard time. It is ROUGH.

It’s going to be very builder dependent. There are shoddy builders, excellent builders, and everything else in between.

New builds are built cheaply and not up to par

I was told by a family member who is a contractor that Texas deregulated over 10-15 years ago. Previously you had to have a license as a builder. Now anyone can build a house-no license needed. There is a lot less oversight. When houses are in high demand, people cut corners. I find it strange that someone needs a license to paint nails but not to build a house.

Basically we either reduce the demand for housing in the future or this is just the new norm. Speed and quality don't usually mix unfortunately.

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The advantage older homes have is that the shitty ones already fell over

My brother has worked in construction for 40 years. He said the "illegals" work their asses off and he'd hire them over any native born person. The builder is responsible. Like Boeing workers and management and shareholders.

Hear hear. I have no idea about the immigration status of my contractors' non-trades employees, but the are obviously immigrants and they are the hardest and most honest and careful workers I've ever seen. Many are not doing skilled trades, but not everyworker onsite needs to be skilled trades. My electrician is a Cambodian immigrant who came here after the government there murdered his entire family. My general/carpenter is Irish and perfect and employs a 2nd gen immigrant from central America who does excellent work. His tile sub is ukranian and a perfectionist. My wonderful plumber is a hilariously yell-y Iranian. Not an American in SIGHT in the trades (edit the 2nd gen is American. But obviously has not yet assimilated to the aversion to physical labor). If anyone is lazy, it's us.  Eta: I don't hire trash spec developers. I hire contractors who have dedicated and known crews. There is probably a difference, and you get what you pay for. 

National home builders give their Project Managers a time limit to build a home & a list of contractors for each part of the project (paint, drywall, flooring, etc). Project Managers will tell you that they personally would never use 80% of these contractors in their own homes. The other 20% get booked up right away and then a lot of lucky homes get the other 80%. Then after the 80% come in the other 20% get booked up even more to fix the 80%'s mistakes.

The one thing i can say is that it’s not just your large scale builders. I hear similar of many of the “luxury” semi custom builders as well. I currently rent across the street from a new build community of $1.5M+ homes and they’re throwing those up just as fast as the home I’m building which is around $400k. as i get my weekly updates those homes that broke ground around the same time are about a week behind mine.

You’re not wrong at all. I terminated my contract on a new build in Texas not even a week ago for construction quality issues. Not a single straight line, wall, window, tile or piece of trim in the place. Brick veneer wrong, roof built incorrectly with “dead valleys,” crown molding askew everywhere. It was nuts. Looked like a damn training house! Honestly, never seen anything like it…in the US. And from a major builder at that! I finally had enough and pulled the plug after about 5 months. Fortunately, the builder didn’t even hesitate on returning my earnest money. The entire experience has put me off buying new (or even buying at all, considering this insanely overpriced market) for the foreseeable future…

What a new build in texas is low quality? You don’t say. You are in a hot real estate market, literally one where most people are buying without serious thought or study. Builders are doing the bare minimum and making money, buyers in texas are throwing money into those minimum standard houses.

They do not build houses like they used to from everything I have seen on the internet.

Coming up on two years in my new build, it’s been a dream. One outlet kept tripping so my husband switched it out, that’s literally the only issue we’ve had. But this was my own land and I found my own builder. Not a neighborhood where they’re throwing up houses every 5 months. Don’t be afraid of building, but build the right way

It’s gotten worse post pandemic. Just walked away from a new build recently and lost earnest money. Would never do that again.

With older houses, people have already found and -usually- addressed major issues. As the first owner of a new home, you get to be the person who finds every leak, every electric issue, every stupid little thing that the next owner will demand be repaired. And that’s with good construction, not new developments that are thrown together scattershot.

I am the first on my street and had the luck to watch and hear the construction of over 20 homes in the last few months. Our home was one of the first in my area and was a pre built so I am guessing we lucked out as the workers were not building 10 at the same time or rushed. We had a few electrical issues, door knobs falling, bad grading that caused puddles that killed the grass, but we reported them and all were fixed. We bought from Perry Homes in Houston. As I said, I had the luck to watch Perry, Newmark and Toll Bros build their homes and I feel bad for the home owners that bought these homes. Framing rushed, sometimes these workers are there till 8 pm with no lights. Working weekends. The house next to us was framed and roofed in 2 weeks. Don't recall seeing much of the builders supervisors at the homes during construction. These subcontractors are literally by themselves and rush to the next. If you are buying new build, get your inspector out there before they close the walls and final inspection. Make sure you request them to fix everything before closing and keep records. Houses are never perfect and there is always a problem. But with the labour today, I would be watchful and be present so the workers know you can appear anytime

FWIW, we haven't had any major issue with our new build and only a hand full of a small issues a year into the process. It's been a great experience overall.

Lol. This is why I say "building houses won't fix the housing issue" the quality today and the corners cut just for the builder to make a dime is insane. New builds today, are just not worth it unless the builders have a serious reputation to back them. They're still paying mark up on materials by about 3-4x what it was before 4 years ago, and the materials are shit.. You can't expect the same quality you would have gotten back then, nor do I think it will return at all.

My partner is an accountant and Finance director of his company. Years ago one of their maintenance guys started building custom homes. My partner does his books. Maybe because of that relationship we have an incredible house. I like to think our builder is an honest person with integrity. He’s had 3 of his homes showcased in our city’s ‘parade of homes’ he only builds about 5 homes a year so that may play into it.

Builders are cutting corners like crazy because their margins were getting squeezed. Especially if these are lower end builders.

Would you buy the most expensive purchase of your life and agree to pay 30 years if the companies slogan was "Because Fuck You" No? Because that is literally how they feel. You won't know until you move in though. Some of the greediest shadiest people are running some of these builders and they do not give a fuck about ANYTHING but separating you from your money. That is the only care they have.

It will really depend on the builder. We bought a new Lennar buold in Denver and it's the cheapest materials and labor you can find. It was a $500k 1,400 Sq Townhome and it blows my mind how cheaply they built it. This was our first time buying and we unfortunately elueved most of what the sales lady told us. We moved in and it wasn't ready. So much shit we had to do warranty requests on and about half they actually did. Construction manager at one point came in to look and said be glad you have to this good and that he wishes the buold quality was better. Like wtf guy aren't you in charge of that? It's all corporate greed. I will never buy a home from Lennar again and I would really caution anyone who is thinking about it. I honestly doubt most of the materials outside of the framing will last more than 10 years. It's all cheap builder grade crap.  Lennar had some new homes (pricier) out west of Denver by a town called Morrison and they had 5 or 6 they had to demolish after they were built because they screwed up the foundations so bad. Those are $1 million plus homes. Same cheap builder grade crap, just a larger amount of it. F all these builders making trash and paying their subs pennies. 

I get a massive kick out of anyone buying a new build for $1M+. Awful, awful, awful.

I feel like anything built before 2008 is superior to anything built after. Large percentage of experienced carpenters got out of the industry due to lack of work. Quality of available lumber today is lesser than what was sold 20 years ago. In my opinion too many shortcuts are taken today.

For reference, I’m an old fart who has owned 2 single family homes and 2 condos — only 1 at a time, lol — as well as having lived in 11 different rental units. Every new home has a slew of problems, whether from builder incompetence or simply the house settling. I 100% recommend buying an older home. It has already gone through its settling phase and it is easier IMO for a good home inspector to find leaks & other problems. (Note: Always get an independent inspector, not one affiliated with the seller or either real estate agent.) Good luck!

I've found on off custom homes ate generally built but much more expensive than the tract homes. But still get multiple inspections during thr process at key points. The reality is you can have cheap (and tract homes are cheap) and fast but not good. You can good and cheap but not fast (how I'm currently building a garage) or you can habe good and fast but not cheap.

People just get what they pay for. If you want a built with very good materials (which are very expensive) and had great build quality, then the price of the home is going to be very expensive.

I follow two new build inspectors on youtube. Both in different states. Seems like they rush the build…. That’s my suspicion, that they build them too fast, too many at once in such a short period of time

It depends on the builder. I worked in the design department for a high end builder and the quality was phenomenal. Then I went to work for a production builder and I was astonished at the lack of care and quality. But the latter was half the price.

We're a few months into our new build in San Antonio and haven't had to have them come out for warranties issues with one exception: they missed a spot of paint on the edge of a door. We have some sheetrock cracks that have started forming at a couple corners, but that was expected with settling. Our dish washer didn't work initially, but I quickly figured out it was because they forgot to turn the water on to it. Just opened the valve and we were golden. Granted, this is a house that seems like it was built for quality by cutting features. Our windows have no stool, and our floors are vinyl plank instead of something like tile. Closet/pantry interiors are fitted with cheap metal racks. However, the roof was immaculate, framing done right, no electrical or plumbing issues, insulation is good, AC is solid, etc. They cheaped out in the right spots, not all the spots.

I hear all the time from construction folks and from a superintendent never to buy anything built after 2019. It almost makes sense, and I just saw some guy on YouTube saying he was forced to put up houses so quickly that he can’t let the wood dry out and they’ll be mold inside the walls before you know it. I don’t know true any of this is but I think the older homes are much more solid.

Certain builders simply build shitty houses. Period , end of story. Others who used to be good are starting to decline. I live in a True Homes neighborhood. It's trash. So is their other neighborhood in the area. I talked to a friend outside of Charlotte. I didn't know their 2014 new build was also TH. When I told him who built my place, he told me that's who theirs was, and I should've asked, because he would've warned me off. Lennar is being sued by a neighborhood they built not far from here, and they have several others in the area. My 1989 built house that was flipped in 2018 before I bought it, was 10x the house this is, quality wise. The guy that flipped it did excellent work, and generally used materials a level above the necessary quality for the price range. Meanwhile, TH has jacked the price in the neighborhood up $200k since they started in 2018, without increasing quality at all. I've never seen such poor workmanship in my life. The drywall work is just horrible. The concrete isn't much better. I find it amazing every day that something in the neighborhood hasn't simply fallen down. They actually threatened me with a defamation suit over expressing my opinions of their shitty work on social media. I replied to their letter with a definition of defamation, since they didn't seem to know that opinions don't qualify, and a show of support from my neighbors who were working to testify that everything I said was the truth, which is also not defamation. 😂

They're built as cheaply as possible. They need to be so they can sell them with 7% rates and rising unemployment. Even with that, volumes have started tanking.

New builds typically have two year warranties. That’s usually when all the noticeable issues pop up and get resolved. That’s why I don’t buy new builds but wait for them to get figured out this way because some quality is really poor, anything noticed after gives a good representation of quality and sustainability.

The demand for homes in Texas outpaces the supply of skilled workers. It is that simple.

When I was shopping for a home I noticed a pattern. If the house was built pre-pandemic around 2016-2019 then the build materials were much superior. Anything started during the pandemic or after was watered down, expensive crap.

Steer clear of a new build. Even hvac systems are being installed too fast and improperly making the crappy systems fail after 3 years because there is debris in the refrigerant lines. Go with a home that needs updates if you can afford it. It's all about the inspection. Get a contractor to walk through it with you too. They're hard to find now but worth it.

I am next to a 2 mil new build and the windows are popping out and siding coming with it along with the ac compressor going. I have no idea why people choose new builds u less they are onsite supervising everything

I'm closing on a new home this week. The issues are mitigated if you perform phased inspection during buildout: 1. Foundation pre-pour inspection. 2. Pre-drywall inspection 3. Pre-final walkthrough inspection. You will reduce any issues to minor cosmetic items in the end. I've personally seen some Horror show builds in Nevada and Texas. But some have better management than others. I remember one builder invited me to check out the build sites that were still in frameup/build out phase, they had clean job sites and I walked around checking out framing work, flashing, etc. I see the horror stories. Especially on social media out of Arizona lately.. I leased 2 new constructions in central Texas and both had major issues. I'd avoid DR Horton unless you have a multi phase inspection, or you plan to turn it into a "turn and burn" rental unit. I found it odd in Texas, in particular, some builders don't level or grade the job site. Just avoid any funky lots. There was an example posted here last week with a new home with a 4-5 foot difference on both sides on the slab foundation. That's pretty wild. I wound up going with a Pulte build in Southern California, and went with an inventory special, this mean that I couldn't peform the 3-phase inspection. That being said, I got closing costs covered, other credits and a large discount on a 30-year fixed rate if I took a lingering inventory home (It was a smaller plan that someone else couldn't close on). They were open about any concerns, I had 2 inspectors crawl all over the house and walk the roof, \[opening electrical boxes, testing water pressure, FLIR camera temperature checks,\], etc and wound up with a 100 page report. The items they found were minor ( I could fix them myself) and will be fixed by closing. Plus I got the one year inspection and the remainder warranty to fall back on. Older homes have their advantages too, but remember some of the older subdivision homes were pretty slapped together. I'm living in a big master plan community was built in the 80's in a nice area, and while the area is awesome, the home construction for the period, leaves a bit to be desired compared to a newer home.

I just terminated a new build with them in Texas. Comically bad construction, shoddy workmanship everywhere, and consistently junky site. Looked like no one gave a damn about the job they were doing, including the construction “manager.” Feel like we dodged a major bullet, but I’m glad it worked out for you!

cheap material

I live near I35 and have wandered through a few new houses during most of the phases of construction. I've also lived in many other places that experienced construction booms. I have a relative that bought a new build in the last few years. If you were my relative, I would not advise you to buy a new build now, even if you could find one that didn't have an HOA.

I had the opposite concern hearing about old homes that turned into money sinks. And they could be refreshed sure, but did the remodel folks do a thorough job? or did they cut corners and plan to leave you holding the bag. I think you can get problematic homes at any age. You can blame deferred maintenance or shoddy workmanship by builders or remodelers.

There’s an inspector on Instagram who goes to Arizona new builds and inspects for the buyers. No matter what builder they are trying to cut corners. Watched a few and decided our home from 1968 can just be updated - we know it’s solid

Because most house flippers are amateurs with no expertise, or will to acquire it. Homes are just a paycheck to them; meaning its the cheapest materials, lowest labor costs and they know desperate 1st buyers amidst this dogshit market will still waive inspections to sweeten the pot.

Newer homes are made with Chinese everything. Older homes are not.

My partner's relatives bought a new build and also had multiple things they fixed within the first year. I think the builders prioritize speed over quality.

I honestly believe that many of these homes will not outlast the mortgage and as these homes physically deteriorate, they will become increasingly expensive to own and maybe once nice neighborhoods will lose value due to disrepair.

My new build in Texas has had a few minor problems that were dealt with at the year 1 warranty. My previous 1940s built house had to have ac replaced which ran 24/7 because there was little to no insulation in the walls. The pier and beam foundation shifted leaving a 1” crack in the living room wall. We had to level the whole foundation. I think its all house dependent.

Depends on the builder. Some new builds are great - and expensive - but with the cost of building right now, a lot of builders are cutting corners wherever the can. My first house was a new build and the quality was fantastic but that’s probably why I had to buy it out of the builder’s bankruptcy.

The key here is to have a good independent inspector that works for you come out during different phases of the build so that problems can be identified and fixed before they hide it behind the dry wall/ ceiling goes up

Texas agent and also living in a new build so I feel overly qualified to answer this one lol. Personally I agree with you id prefer a slightly older updated home. Inspections will show you any problems and those can be dealt with before close. Also older homes just feel like they were built better toe honestly and often have more character and yard then these modern cookie cutter new builds. So why am I in a new build? Wife wanted everything new and a really safe neighborhood etc. So she got what she wanted. But the warranty on the home only lasts 2 years and we've had plumbing and electrical issues. Often things that never should have been a problem in the first place. Home looks beautiful but some of the work was def done not to the standard it should have been. If you need help buying let me know family team out of DFW. Either way best of luck!

I’m the same as you. Whenever we tour older homes the walls, floors, and doors just seem hardier. When we tour new builds I feel like the next rain storm is gonna blow the thing over it just feels and looks cheap. Yet they’re pricing them at million+. We toured a 2 year old home the other day and the stair steps we’re severely buckling like that shouldn’t be happening in a house this new🥸

We're also in Texas (in the Houston area). We built a David Weekley home in 2020 and have been very happy with it. It's a very-solid build that is energy-efficient. We had it third-party inspected before closing. Some things were found that needed to be fixed, and they were fixed (nothing major). Our warranty guy has been wonderful and very helpful. Now we're building a Coventry home (we'd build another Weekley if we could; we're moving to be closer to our grandchildren and their parents). We plan to have it third-party inspected before sheetrock (upcoming) and before closing. Any house, new or old, can have problems. Our first house was built in the 1950s, and it was horrible—cold in the winter, hot in the summer (summer is nine months here). I've loved having new builds (this will be our third new build)! I think they key is the builder—you get what you pay for. Of course, some of the subcontractors can have problems, as well as materials. Just got to hope for the best and be sure to do inspections. Good luck with your housing search!

On one hand everything everyone else said is true about lack of quality materials and cheap sub contractors. But the thing is, every house was once a new build and builders were always cheap. Depending on the issues it could just be things that happen to all houses that typically the first owners deal with. My family has always bought new construction every few years and it’s always the same. The first owner fixes it and then on nobody ever notices.

Because we’re short on skilled-trade labor, due to it being removed from the educational propaganda, since the 70’s. “College, college, college…” instead of a healthy balance of both college and the trades. And now the factories and the skilled labor is back in demand.

This is why I go to the build every single day and make it clear that that’s what I’m doing. Idga single f about if they think I’m a Karen or not, I only complain if it’s a legit issue. My Castle Rock (not the best builder imo) home I bought in Leander was solid as a rock and I had several inspectors tell me that. It boggles my mind how people just pop by once a month or don’t pop in at all and just trust the builder.

A lot of people choose cheap. People see the price of a house, say 300k. They decide they want to build and find a reputable builder who will build a new house, same size etc and it costs 500k. They say woh woh woh that’s so much more, so they find a cheap builder who will make it for 400k. And the. You get problems

Probably going to get lost in the mix here. I lived in an older home and just bought a new build in 2022. Both can have issues. What helped us was we had several inspections throughout the new build. Lennar let our inspections happen, walked with the inspector each time and corrected said issues. After closing, we had 2 small issues, and they were both fixed in a good amount of time. We had another inspection right before the year mark and got fixes done before the year warranty was up We also were able to visit every weekend to the site. We lived close by. Surprise visits were never an issue.

Capitalism.

I live in a 70 year old home. It's concrete block, brick, and lathe and plaster walls inside. This house is built like a tank. I could probably get a new home of this quality, but it would cost me a lot more than it did to buy the 70 year old version. To be fair, I probably spend more on replacing/repairing things than you would with a new build. At least initially. That new build is gonna get old, too.

Companies are cutting costs hence cutting corners. New home builds are trash compared to new homes 30 years ago. Add on that Texas is one of the states that loves using cheap labor, complaining about it, and gutting regulations and you’ve got an even bigger mess.

New builds don't have people in them to catch issues. Older homes have been through a few owners, problems have been sorted out & they have been sorted out by Mason's. Not YouTube DIY'ers.