People constantly ask me, ‘Which builder gives the most for the money?” My answer is, “Depends.” In this post, I’m only going to discuss the largest production builders selling homes in Tucson. For a discussion of semi-custom builders, please refer to the previous post, Which Builder Builds the Best Quality.

Every buyer client I have ever taken on always asks the same question, “Which homebuilder builds the best quality?” I will try to explain the differences and quality issues as I see them. First off, unless you’re talking about a full-blown custom home, there’s not a significant difference in quality for most homes under $500k. The municipalities govern the homes being built through building codes and plan approvals. They ferret out a lot of bad building practices from the onset. However, the municipalities are not working for you, the customer, in any way. They are just making sure homebuilders are abiding by the ordinances and building codes. If they are, then they do nothing to point out better practices or the way something should be done but isn’t by the builder.

After having recently taken several buyers out to find homes in different parts of Tucson, I have discovered that the absolutely best deals are the builders’ spec homes. These homes are completed or almost completed, but unsold. Many potential buyers these days are hung up on the foreclosure deals, from which there are plenty to choose. However, after having negotiated several of each, it is obvious that the homebuilders around town have concluded that they need to move product fast. Banks, on the other hand, are tending to hold tight to their set prices on foreclosure homes and are willing to wait to find a buyer for their properties at that price.

Purchasing a new construction home is often the best way to buy. Currently, great incentives and bottom dollar prices are being offered by builders to move their inventory, but how do you know which builder to select? Ultimately it all comes down to price. If your resources are unlimited, then naturally you can hire a full custom homebuilder to build the home of your dreams. But, if you’re like most, you will need to buy and build from either a local tract homebuilder or a national one that builds in Tucson. Here are some tips to help you select the best fit for your family’s needs.

Yesterday KB Home reported their 4th quarter results and they were dismal, to be optimistic about it. For the quarter ended Nov. 30, the company posted a loss of $772.7 million. That’s a $ 772.7 MILLION LOSS in 3 months! This just goes to show how bad things really are for all builders. KB Home, in my opinion, runs a pretty good operation building homes for primarily first time homebuyers. Other homebuilders have faired just as badly. Pulte, DR Horton, Richmond American, and Standard Pacific (who just sold their Tucson operations earlier this month) have all been beaten down pretty hard.

I am always talking to many people in the real estate industry and have been watching what the new home builders are doing. It’s my job to know where a certain builder is financially and otherwise. This helps me greatly in negotiating with them and representing clients. If the homebuilder has too many specs, they’re typically much more ready to give a few homes away to move the inventory. From what I have been hearing and my understanding of what I see happening, it looks as if some major homebuilders in the Tucson area may be planning to leave the Tucson market.

Most new home builders work in the same fashion and have the same steps from initial contract through closing. By knowing the steps and properly preparing for your purchase, you stand a good chance of getting a great home built. They sell you a “lot”, and you pick the floor plan and the options that will be built upon it. For locking in the price and the home, you sign a builder contract that will be very sided to the builder’s interests. What most people don’t know is that — although very rare — certain terms of the contract can be negotiated. Did the homebuilder guarantee a certain date of completion? Ask that it be written in. Frequently, the builders’ agent sees that you are in need of a home by a certain date, and will guarantee that the builder will make that date to “close” the sale. Then some “setback” forces the builder to have delays, and the home does not even come close to the original date. Of course, by this time you are stuck. If you walk away from the home, you lose your deposit(s). This is a trick that I have seen many times, especially to those who are in a true need of having a home completed on a fast schedule. If the builder’s representative guarantees a date, then have it in writing that it will be done by that date. If the home is not finished by that date, then you can cancel and receive 100% earnest money back, or the builder will pay some set amount of money per day that the home is not complete. I have seen anything from $90-$180 per day if the home is not completed by the original date promised.

Negotiating in real estate is where the “rubber meets the road.” Anyone can find a home they like, but it comes down to negotiating the best deal for yourself and saving the maximum money possible. In Tucson Arizona (AZ), when negotiating real estate prices with Tucson home builders (including the surrounding areas of Marana, Oro Valley, Sahuarita, and Catalina AZ) here are a few tips to assist you in getting the best deal possible.

When buying a home, many people don’t even consider a new construction home built by a local or national builder, i.e, KB Home, Lennar, Pepper Viner, AF Sterling, etc., but they definitely should in my opinion. Just about any new home will be more efficient, covered with a warranty from the builder, and in current market conditions many times cheaper then the resale homes available in the marketplace. Since I personally spent years selling for a major home builder, I feel there are some major advantages to buying new, but you also need to truly think out what you’re having built. You’ll need to carefully consider the floorplan, lot, builder options, and choice of builder. Whenever looking at a certain area, ask your real estate agent what new homes are also available to see. It might make you think twice about new homes.