The starting place for new-home starts

If you’re looking to turn over a new leaf this fall by hunting exclusively for a new-construction home, it’s important to know where to start your search, say the experts. Depending on your preference — whether it be a to-be-built residence on the lot of your choice, a finished inventory home, or an abode-in-progress located within a new home subdivision — you can find what you’re dreaming of faster by doing some simple homework that’s designed to avoid excess legwork.

For example, if you’re eager to buy new but seeking to remain a local resident, check with your local housing/community development department, planning and zoning department, or other local authority that tracks permit applications and housing starts in your municipality, says Richard Swerdlow, CEO of Condo.com.

Your city, town or village may have this information conveniently posted on its Web site.

“Big projects and subdivisions take extensive permitting and zoning planning,” Swerdlow says. “You can usually find out about these projects and zoning meetings in the local news section of your paper or at the local zoning and planning departments.”

Your municipality may reveal several ideal new-home opportunities in your area — either a teardown site or vacant lot on which a new home can be built, an inventory (“spec”) home on a scattered home site, or a new construction residence planned for a new community subdivision/development. In fact, you may be able to get a preconstruction discount from the builder/developer if work has not yet started on the residence, says Swerdlow.

Aside from a check with your municipality, there are two essential tools at your disposal. The first is the Internet, including sites like Realtor.com (official site of the National Association of REALTORS®, where you can conduct a thorough online search of available properties) and NAHB.org (official site of the National Association of Home Builders). Numerous other sites, including Move.com, HomeGainBuilders.com, and iNest.com, offer free and simple searches of new-home properties and communities/subdivisions throughout the United States.

The second is a flesh-and-blood expert: an experienced real-estate professional.

“Working with a real-estate agent who knows the area you wish to live in works best,” says Swerdlow. “They have market knowledge and can save you considerable time searching for a teardown property, for example.”

One of the real-estate agent’s most invaluable assets is access to the Multiple Listing Service, which can easily locate and provide details on recently finished, in-process or preconstruction homes. It simplifies the process of hunting for a home and provides the most comprehensive listings and information on available homes for sale in a given area.

“I would always advise speaking with a REALTOR® who is knowledgeable about the area in which you are interested,” says Steven Kleiman, Oakington Realty in Houston. “Finding a REALTOR or licensed broker who specializes in finding lots can be very useful. REALTORS® who know specific neighborhoods typically know about homes or lots that are going to come up for sale before they are actually listed.”

Kleiman says he also suggests asking the broker “if he or she has relationships with any new homebuilders in your area.”

Indeed, the builders themselves may be another smart starting point — if you know of a builder in your area, visit that firm’s Web site to learn of any forthcoming developments or spec homes for sale nearby, says Swerdlow.

“Many builders and developers post signs on properties once they purchase them to try and secure a buyer early on,” Kleiman says. “If a prospective buyer finds a builder whose products he or she likes and the builder is a person with whom the buyer would want to work with, I would advise speaking with these builders about lots they know about.”

Lastly, Swerdlow cautions buyers to perform their due diligence prior to crafting a new home from the ground up.

“Before deciding to build a new house, make sure you search extensively for what the market has to offer,” says Swerdlow. “There is no need to waste time, money and energy building a home if your dream home is already for sale in your area.”