NEWS AND PHOTOS

The “Not-So-Obvious” Benefits of Buying New
By Bob Brown, President Builders League of South Jersey 2008

Prospective home buyers have the choice of two types of houses on the market:  resale or new.

Home buyers planning to buy a brand-new house or condominium often cite energy-efficiency, open layout, a warranty, and being able to select appliances, flooring, paint colors and other design elements as factors driving their choice. 

But builders say that buyers can be drawn to a new house for reasons that aren’t so obvious.  Below are a few more benefits of a brand-new home that you may not see in the sales brochure.

Building a Community Together
A brand-new community is one of the built-in benefits of many new homes. When families move in to a subdivision at the same time, often lasting bonds of friendship and neighborliness are formed right away. Nobody is the “new kid on the block,” and many home builders host community block parties in new developments to help owners meet and connect. Popular amenities like pools, walking trails and courts for tennis and basketball offer additional opportunities for interaction among neighbors of all ages.   Often new communities are comprised of home owners in the same stage of life, such as young families or active retirees, so neighbors can get to know each other through carpools, PTA meetings, tennis matches or golf games.

Entertaining
Throwing a party in an older home can be a challenge because smaller, distinct rooms make it difficult to entertain guests in one large space.  Builders are responding to today’s homebuyer preferences with layouts featuring more open spaces and rooms that flow into each other more easily, like the popular great room.  While you are in the kitchen preparing dinner, you can still interact with guests enjoying conversation in the family room without feeling closed off. The feeling of spaciousness in today’s new-home layouts often is enhanced by the higher ceilings and additional windows that bringing in more light than you would find in an older home.

A Clean Slate
For some buyers, parking the car in a sparkling-clean garage or being the first to cook a dinner in a brand-new kitchen is part of the appeal of new construction.  In addition, you won’t have to spend time stripping dated wallpaper or repainting to suit your own sense of style. You can create your own home décor from the get-go!

The advantages of being the first owner of a home extend to the outdoors. Instead of inheriting inconveniently or precariously placed trees, or having to tear up overgrown shrubs, you can design and plant the lawn and garden you want.  

Outlets, Outlets Everywhere!
Homes built in the 1960’s and earlier were wired much differently than houses today.  Builders had no way of anticipating the invention of high-definition televisions, DVRs and computers that we enjoy today—and the very different electrical requirements they would introduce.  New homes can accommodate advanced technologies like structured wiring, security systems and sophisticated lighting plans, and can be tailored to meet the individual home owner’s needs.

Anyone who has ever lived in an older home can also attest to the fact that there are never enough outlets, inside or out! New-home builders plan for the increased number and type of electronics and appliances used by today’s families, so you can safely operate a wine cooler, Christmas lights or your computer.

BuyNewIt’sTime.com offers information on housing market in South Jersey.
Builders League of South Jersey says market conditions are the best to buy new.

CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 5, 2008 – For people considering a move, there are four reasons to buy a new home in South Jersey today, according to the Builders League of South Jersey’s Buy New It’s Time campaign.

1. Value-added opportunities and the adjusted pricing offered by many of the region’s new homebuilders have made purchasing a new home in South Jersey more attractive than ever before. Yesterday’s upgrades, such as hardwood floors, granite countertops, decks, and finished basements, are standards today in many new neighborhoods.

2. Historically low interest rates have improved the affordability of new homes for many residents in South Jersey.

3. A new home is where you are going to live your life. The glut of investors, speculators and house flippers has left the South Jersey real estate market. As such, most shoppers looking for a new home in South Jersey are planning for the perfect place to live. They’re looking for a sense of community and a home they love.

4. There is a limited window of time to purchase a new home in South Jersey.
Unlike other areas of the country where there is a glut of new homes for sale and tens of thousands of homes waiting to be built, New Jersey doesn’t have an extensive inventory of new homes on the market. Land-use regulations in New Jersey will stymie new neighborhoods from being built in the future, which will ultimately affect the cost of all new homes in the future.

The Builders League of South Jersey has launched BuyNewIt’sTime.com, a public information campaign to address some of the misconceptions about the housing market in South Jersey. Developed in response to buyers’ concerns about the stability of the region’s real estate market as compared to the national market, the campaign seeks to provide potential homebuyers with the information they need on South Jersey real estate market to decide if now is the right time for them to buy a new home.

“Bad news about the national housing market is everywhere. For the last two years we’ve been overwhelmed by the news of falling home prices, bankruptcy, financing and foreclosures,” said Builders League of South Jersey President Bob Brown. “While New Jersey is in the middle of a market correction after 15 years of home prices steadily rising, South Jersey is not experiencing the woes faced by other areas of the country. The bad news on the national housing market, however, is feeding consumers’ fears about investing in a home and their future. We hear it every day. What has not dissipated in this market slowdown is the demand for homes in New Jersey: People still need a place to live.”

The website offers a series of interviews with housing industry experts and homebuyers who bought a new home in South Jersey in the last two years. The Consumer Information section offers plenty of answers to consumers’ toughest questions about buying a new home today. The campaign also hosts a series of Builders League podcasts with housing industry experts discussing real estate market conditions and national housing news.

“Every marketplace is different. National conditions are less important than what is happening in your neighborhood,” Brown said. “In Southern New Jersey, because we don’t have the inventory build up that we’ve seen in other areas of the country, like Florida, Atlanta or Las Vegas, our home values have held pretty steady. The rapid increase in home prices that saw the average ticket price in New Jersey rise 87 percent between 2000 and 2005 has leveled off back to reality, which is a buyer’s advantage.  Coupled with an increase in value-added incentives offered by many new home builders today, the market is perfect for buying a new home today. It’s not going to last. In three or four years, those who waited to buy may regret it.”

The campaign was developed through the creative direction of Shovi Websites of Bedford, Mass., Next Step Graphics of Mount Laurel, N.J. and Media Imagery of Pennsauken, N.J.

ABOUT THE BLSJ: The Builders League of South Jersey is a housing industry trade association of builders, developers, suppliers, subcontractors, lenders, consulting professionals and others involved in providing residents with places to live and work in South Jersey. The Builders League is committed to promoting balanced solutions for solving New Jersey’s housing needs while planning for preservation, environmental protection and economic growth.

The Builders League which is comprised of firms from Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem, Cumberland, Cape May and Atlantic counties, is an affiliate of the New Jersey Builders Association and the National Association of Home Builders. For more information on the League visit www.blsj.com