Build New or Buy an Existing Home? How Modular Construction Changes the Comparison

Ready for a new home? One of your first big decisions is whether to buy an existing house or build a new one. Buying an existing home does have advantages, if you’re looking for a home in an established neighborhood or if you physically want to see what you are purchasing before you make an offer. 

However, buying an existing home does NOT always mean you can move in more quickly and more cheaply. Older homes come with someone else's choices: kitchens that lack storage and counterspace, dated bathrooms with poor-quality flooring, or a roof, HVAC system, or other major components that are well past their useful lives.

Building a new modular home solves many of these concerns by combining the benefits of building new with the efficiency of climate-controlled factory construction. For example, Corey’s Construction builds modular homes with a process that is much different from modular homes of the past. 

Our modern factory uses the same quality materials, skilled craftsmanship, and construction methods as traditional, site-built homes. The only difference is that modular homes are built in a climate-controlled environment that improves quality, efficiency, and consistency.

If you’re trying to decide between buying an existing home and building new, here’s what you need to know.

Look Beyond Moving Day If You’re Considering Buying an Existing Home

Before buying an existing home, industry experts caution against making an offer until you get a professional home inspection. The National Association of Realtors® recommends an inspection to identify any problems with major systems and components. Depending on the age and condition of the house, there may be repairs or improvements to address before you can move in.

And the purchase price is only one piece of the home cost equation if you plan to renovate. If you want to add a new kitchen, additional storage, different flooring, updated bathrooms, better windows, or a more efficient heating and cooling system, that’s going to drive up the total price.

Start with the Home You Actually Want With a New Modular Home

Instead of adapting your life to a house designed for another family, building a new modular home means you can start with a floor plan that fits the way you want to live. At Corey’s Construction, we offer more than 300 customizable floor plans, including ranch-style, Cape Cods, two-story homes, and many other styles. From there, you can personalize the layout, finishes, materials, and features, such as:

• A large kitchen island for family gatherings

• Better storage with a kitchen pantry

• A home office or “flex” room

• More closet space and a larger primary bathroom

• A porch or other outdoor living feature

• Smart-home upgrades

  
  

Modular Construction Shortens the New-Home Building Process

One reason buyers choose an existing home is that they assume building a new one will take too long. And this is often the case with traditional site-built construction, where the home is constructed almost entirely outdoors, one phase after another. Weather, subcontractor availability, and material scheduling can all affect progress.

With modular construction, the home is built indoors in a modern factory, using the same quality materials, skilled craftsmanship, and construction methods as site-built homes — simply in a climate-controlled environment that improves quality, efficiency, and consistency.

Meanwhile, work can happen at your homesite at the same time. Your foundation and other site preparations can move forward while your home is being constructed in the factory. This process removes many of the delays associated with traditional construction.

In fact, according to the National Association of Home Builders, 90% of a modular home can be constructed off-site while the homesite is prepared simultaneously. Common construction disruptions, such as weather delays, are greatly reduced.

A New Home Gives You More Control Over Energy Efficiency

Buying a new modular home begins with energy-efficient materials, equipment, insulation, and windows, instead of deciding which efficiency improvements you want to retrofit later. ENERGY STAR® notes these factors are essential to energy efficiency.

At Corey’s, our new homes are built standard with 2” x 6” exterior walls and R-19 insulation, R-38 blown-in ceiling insulation, warm-edge thermopane low-e glass windows, and insulated exterior doors. We also offer geothermal heating and cooling and optional fluorescent lighting that meets ENERGY STAR requirements. We design our homes to maximize energy efficiency and reduce your overall energy costs.

And modular construction adds another advantage: the house is built indoors using quality-controlled construction processes and inspections. Modular homes must meet the same applicable local building codes as site-built homes. 

Building a New Home Means More Choices

Buying a brand-new home means you get to choose how and where your new home is built on your land. And with our Corey's modular construction process, we take the stress out of planning and permitting through site preparation, foundation, home installation, and final completion. Still searching for the perfect homesite? Our Corey’s team can help you with that as well.

And, as we mentioned earlier, we have over 300 floor plans that you can use to explore different home styles, compare layouts, take virtual 3D tours, and see actual finished homes before deciding what works for your lifestyle.

The Bottom Line: Modular Construction Gives Homebuyers Another Choice

While buying an existing home offers some advantages, building new gives you tremendous design freedom and saves potential renovation costs. A new modular home brings the advantages of a faster move-in (compared to traditional site-builds), along with a variety of layouts, finishes, and design choices.With a new modular home from Corey’s Construction, you get:

• A brand-new home designed around your preferences

• Modern materials and systems

• Extensive customization options

• A time-and-cost-efficient construction process that moves much of the work into a controlled factory environment.

At Corey’s Construction, we take that advantage even further with our Standard Turnkey Package, which includes everything you need for a move-in-ready home at the end of construction.

If you’re shopping for homes in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, or West Virginia, and haven’t found an existing property that feels quite right, maybe it’s time to quit asking, “Which house should I buy?” Try asking, “What if I could build the house I actually want?”

Contact Corey’s Construction today to learn more about the advantages of building new versus buying an existing home.