February 16th, 2010 by Michael Oliver

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I get a lot of buyers on the fence about what is the better buy a foreclosure home or a brand new one. Sometimes a

Should You Buy A New Home Or A Foreclosure For The Best Overall Deal?

client just wants to look at foreclosure homes motivated by the “deal”. Other times a client only wants to look at new homes where everything is under warranty and they will have no issues with anything. Either strategy could be a great idea but I would recommend as a buyer you look at both types of home listings sometimes the differences are much more minor then you would think.

Currently many Tucson AZ new homes are as low priced or LOWER then foreclosures in the same neighborhood. I wrote a post a couple weeks ago about a new home (spec home) a client of mine purchased in Rancho Sahuarita for basically the mid $180’s after all incentives etc were figured in. The same size foreclosures (bank Owned Homes) in Rancho Sahaurita would run a buyer about $220k so the buyer only looking for the “deal” would have spent $40k more! In that exact situation the builders spec home wasn’t on MLS so if you as a buyer or your Realtor didn’t do some leg work and look into these options the foreclosure buyer would have absolutely no idea that home was for sale.

On the opposite side of the coin I know many times the new home buyer who only wants a new home spends tens of thousands of dollars for that new home when in the same neighborhoods and sometimes the same street there is a virtually brand new looking foreclosure on the market for $20k-$40k less in some situations. Many buyers are worried they are going to get into to many “projects” with a foreclosure home and this simply is not the case in all foreclosure homes. The vast majority of foreclosures do need a lot of rehab and repair. However the difference is right now the foreclosure rate is extremely high and many of the foreclosures were newer homes that have only been lived in for 2-3 years.

Now with all that being said I think this question is best answered by the area in which you are looking to buy a home in. Right now in the Catalina Foothills foreclosures are without a doubt the best buy and you will save you more money then a new home because new homes in the district still carry a high premium. Other areas such as the Northwest is split; within the interior NW the area basically north of River, east of First to about I-10 and Cortaro Northwest (NW) Tucson foreclosures are about the only way to go. But once you get out to Gladden Farms and Red Rock the new home builders are competitive and may get the edge. In the Southwest foreclosures should be the better deal but the builders are within the market also maybe a finished builder spec home could net out to a better price. In Sahuarita I think the builders are better then the Sahuarita Foreclosure homes I see on a daily basis. If you have questions as to what maybe the best options for your individual needs call or use the box on the right to write your comment/ question and I’ll be more then happy to help you out.

Tucson Foreclosures, Tucson new homes