While new construction homes have always proved popular for several reasons, including modern designs and features, they have previously been the preserve of the very outer reaches of suburbs or positioned even further away from urban centers.
That’s all changed, with local governments approving zoning for master-planned new home communities much closer to amenities and employment opportunities.The result is a new demographic becoming attracted to these modern, well-equipped residences and communities.
So, why are people finding these more urban developments so alluring?
While much of America’s urban housing stock has been built out of necessity (to provide accommodation to ever-growing workforces), new home communities are a little different. Every aspect is meticulously planned and focuses on delivering a high quality of life as much as anything else.
These communities often feature communal parks, hiking and biking trails, picnic areas, and play areas for children. Some even feature their elementary schools. In many ways, they become communities within communities with a strong sense of camaraderie and belonging. Everything is designed and built to have everything you need for an excellent living experience.
With immersion in nature and green spaces proven to deliver several health benefits (including lower stress levels), these communities provide the oasis away from work many Americans crave. And yet they can be as little as 20 minutes from a city’s downtown area.
Another key draw is the location of these urban communities. They tend to be just outside the center of a metropolitan area or large city. The site makes it easy to deliver as many benefits as possible without the downsides of big-city life like cost, noise, and mess.
Take the new development in Salt Lake City, Oquirrh Mountain Ranch, under construction by LGI Homes. Here, residents benefit from picturesque mountain views, zoning to the best schools in the area, and proximity to outdoor adventures in and around Utah Lake without compromising on those critical urban conveniences.
In short, communities like these are deliberately designed to offer the best of both worlds to deliver the highest possible quality of life – a huge draw, especially for young professionals looking for somewhere to settle down and start a family. This area of Utah is known for the abundance of high-tech firms, software companies, and the businesses that cater to them- the area is nicknamed Silicone Slopes.
Of course, attractive and well-equipped as these commutes are, the homes must be suitable. As somewhere you’ll spend most of your free time, your home has to check all the boxes. And that’s precisely what new construction homes do, in spades.
While benefiting from modern home construction techniques and materials, these homes also deliver a suite of modern upgrades that make choosing these homes over existing properties much more straightforward.
Referring to the example above, LGI Homes residences in Salt Lake City come with upgraded features such as Whirlpool® appliances, quartz countertops, Moen® faucets, Kwikset® door hardware with SmartKey Security™, a smart thermostat, and a Wi-Fi-enabled garage door opener.
Known as the CompleteHome™ package, providing a vast suite of upgrades within the sale price gives prospective buyers an easy decision. Move into a home that will likely need renovations in the next few years or a new home with brand new features across the board, backed by a 10-year structural warranty.
When you line up the options side-by-side like this, you can begin to understand the dramatic shift in consumer preferences occurring within the young family demographic in urban centers.
Of course, the elephant in the room has always been waiting times. New homes are not constructed overnight. So, yes, while you’ve always had those advantages of buying new over existing properties, typically, the problem has been you had to wait, in some cases as long as a year, before your home was ready.
For families relocating for work or those without the time to wait, these homes have often been desirable but pushed out of the discussion due to waiting times. That’s no longer the case.
Home builders have long recognized time as a factor that has constrained sales and have acted to remedy the situation. Today, particularly in urban new home communities, properties are completed to the highest standard, signed off for occupancy, and then marketed.
In other words, not only can you have your cake and eat it, but you can do it faster than you would be able to for an existing property. Some home builders promise to have you in one of their freshly constructed homes in as little as 30 days – perfect for relocating families.
As if the promise of a high quality of life, a brand-new home with cutting-edge features, and immediate-move-in capabilities weren’t enough, many new home communities also offer financial incentives to get a sale over the line.
That right, some new home builders will help you pay for the cost of one of their own homes, offering up yet another reason why these communities are taking urban centers by storm. Each company takes a different approach. Some may provide financial services for free, including creating credit reports, working through finance applications on your behalf, and liaising with mortgage providers without charge.
Others go even further by offering to pay your closing costs when the time comes. Depending on your home value, this can cost thousands of dollars. Yet again, this gives many homebuyers, including families, first-time buyers, and young professional couples, that last “nudge” to delve into a new way of living.
As you can see, the change in how new home builders and, to a lesser extent, local governments have approached urban development of single-family homes has led to an evolution.
No longer do these homes come with the various drawbacks of years gone by. Instead, they offer top-quality amenities, modern homes with future-proof features, and immediate move-in capabilities. Best of all, they blend the best of nature with the facilities or urban centers, offering residents the best of both worlds.
The result has been a popularity boom that shows no signs of slowing down.
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