How Buying a New Home Could Save You Money

For many, buying a new construction home is the dream. Everything is fresh and on-trend, there’s no haggling with emotional sellers, and you may even get a say in the home’s layout, features and amenities. In today’s market, buying new—rather than an existing property—might be an economical choice, too. As the median payment on a new mortgage creeps toward $2,200, most buyers are desperate to save cash wherever they can. And while improving your credit scores or shopping around can often help you snag a lower mortgage payment, builder-offered incentives—which have been on the rise in recent months—can also lead to notable savings. “We’re seeing builders sweetening the pot for buyers,” says Nick Bailey , president of Re/Max LLC, a real-estate brokerage based in Denver. Those extras—plus some built-in insurance advantages—could theoretically save a buyer with a $500,000 budget $40,000 or more in just the first year of homeownership (though actual savings, if any, will vary quite a bit from buyer to buyer). Here’s how buying new could help make your home purchase more affordable.

1. Builders are slashing prices

Though new homes typically cost slightly more than existing ones—the median sale price was $418,800 vs. $394,300 in September—builders have increasingly been cutting price tags. In fact, nearly a third of home builders reported reducing their prices in October, according to a survey from the National Association of Home Builders. It’s the highest share in nearly a year and roughly triple the share of price cuts seen July 2022. The size of the reductions are worth mentioning, too. Almost 40% of builders say they cut prices by 6% or more in October. So, a home on the market for $500,000 a month ago could be listed at just $470,000 today.

2. They’re offering lower mortgage rates

If slashed prices aren’t enough to get a mortgage payment in your budget, builders have another offer: A lower mortgage rate. In response to today’s decades-high interest rates , some builders are now offering “buydowns,” chipping in to get home buyers reduced mortgage rates—at least for a time. (Essentially, the builder prepays the lender the interest for the years the mortgage rate is reduced). NAHB’s data shows that 29% of builders offered mortgage rate buydowns in October. “Many builders are using sales incentives—including mortgage rate buydowns—as a method of addressing housing affordability headwinds,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist at NAHB. Buydowns can be permanent, lasting for the entire term of the loan, but more often—at least with builder buydowns—they’re temporary, lasting for the first one to three years of the mortgage. Home builder Lennar, for example, offers what’s called a 2-1 buy-down. This allows home buyers to reduce their mortgage rate by 2 percentage points in the first year—say, down from 7.5% to 5.5%, for instance—and then by one point the following year. By the third year, the loan would revert to that original 7.5% rate (or you could refinance if rates had become more favorable). In the above scenario, the buy-down would save you over $10,000 in interest during just the first year of a 30-year loan. Another perk: Builders are also offering to pitch in on closing costs. These typically clock in around 2% to 6% of your total loan amount, or up to $30,000 on a $500,000 loan. According to the NAHB survey, 35% of builders offered to pay closing costs last month.

3. New home insurance is more affordable, too

The last way a new home could save you on your mortgage payment has little to do with builders—but instead, how much it costs to insure a property. And according to insurance pros, home insurance premiums —which are typically paid as part of your monthly mortgage payment—are often much more affordable on newer homes than older ones. “Older homes may have issues like roof leaks,” says Angel Conlin, chief insurance officer at Kin Insurance in Chicago. “New homes, with fresh materials and construction, pose less risk to insurers.” (Just keep in mind: A new home—and new materials—doesn’t necessarily mean the place is perfect. So if you do opt for new construction, always get a home inspection.) According to data from Policygenius, a new home costs 13% less to insure annually than a 10-year-old one and 32% less than a 30-year-old home. As of 2022, the average premium on a new home was just $1,200 per year. A 30-year-old home’s premium was $1,776. “If you’re looking at two properties that have a similar size, construction type, and location with the difference being that one was built 30 years after the other,” says Pat Howard, a home insurance expert at Policygenius, “you can likely bank on the newer home having cheaper home insurance premiums.”

One of Burleigh Heads’ most architecturally significant penthouses has hit the market for the first time since its completion five years ago.

The listing provides the first real look inside the two-level penthouse crowning Norfolk, Forme’s award-winning Goodwin Terrace development which was completed in 2021.

The penthouse sold off the plan for $5.35 million around 18 months before construction was completed and has remained tightly held ever since, meaning its resale offers the first insight inside one of Burleigh’s most architecturally impressive apartment buildings.

The four-bedroom residence spans approximately 461 sqm, comprising 276 sqm of internal living and a further 185 sqm of outdoor space across its two levels.

Its position on Goodwin Terrace gives the penthouse one of the Gold Coast’s comparatively rare true north-to-water aspects, with views stretching from Burleigh Headland along the coastline towards the towers of Surfers Paradise. Floor-to-ceiling glazing has been used extensively throughout the residence, framing the ocean outlook from almost every principal living space.

Forme, led by Managing Director David Calvisi, acquired the prime 1,012 sqm site, formerly home to The Fish House restaurant, before developing Norfolk as the first new multi-residential project delivered on Goodwin Terrace in around three decades.

The strength of the location was clear. The more unusual proposition was the building itself.

Forme appointed Koichi Takada Architects to design the 10-level development, marking the practice’s first Gold Coast building. Rather than treating Norfolk’s beachfront setting as a backdrop, Takada used the Norfolk Island pines along the foreshore as the basis for the architecture.

Curved balcony slabs and horizontal battens create the building’s distinctive layered exterior. Sliding timber screens can be repositioned for privacy, shade and protection from the coastal conditions, continuously changing the appearance of the façade.

Takada has compared the concept to the structure of a pinecone, whose overlapping layers open and close according to environmental conditions. In an earlier account of the project, the architect said the objective was to celebrate the site and create a stronger connection between the residences and the elements outside.

The response helped turn Norfolk into an architectural marker for Burleigh’s transformation.

Norfolk comprises 12 half-floor apartments, two dual-level penthouses and one two-level beach house. MIM Design created the interiors, Hutchinson Builders undertook construction and Plus Architecture supplied documentation services for the builder.

Inside Residence 901, MIM Design’s restrained palette brings together timber, natural stone and tailored joinery without competing with the outlook. Travertine surfaces have subsequently received paint-protection film, while the home is being offered with a custom furniture package.

A private lift opens directly into the main living level. Living, dining and media spaces are arranged along the view, accompanied by a concealed bar and a broad north-eastern terrace.

The kitchen has an oversized stone island, European appliances and bespoke cabinetry, supported by a butler’s pantry and separate scullery. An integrated RTI system controls lighting, climate, fans, security, entertainment and audio using in-home touchscreens or a smartphone application.

The principal suite occupies a private wing with ocean views, a dressing room and ensuite. Two additional bedrooms have their own ensuites, while a fourth bedroom can operate as an executive study. A concealed Murphy bed allows that room to accommodate guests when required.

The rooftop is what moves the residence beyond even a generously proportioned beachfront apartment.

Reserved exclusively for the penthouse, it contains a heated lap pool, landscaped gardens, several entertaining areas and an alfresco kitchen with a built-in barbecue. An integrated outdoor cinema allows the rooftop to function as an open-air screening room above the Pacific.

Four side-by-side secure car spaces, dedicated electric-vehicle charging and private storage address practical constraints often encountered by prestige-apartment buyers. The parking allocation is particularly relevant for owners moving from a large house or maintaining a car collection.

Norfolk’s wider amenities include a beach-club-style residents’ area, swimming pool, gymnasium and sauna. Burleigh Beach is directly opposite, while James Street, Burleigh Head National Park and restaurants including Rick Shores and The Tropic are within walking distance.

The building’s reputation has also moved well beyond its beachfront address. Norfolk received both jury and popular-choice honours in the mid-rise multi-unit housing category at the 2022 Architizer A+Awards. It won a Queensland Australian Institute of Architects award for multiple housing and was named the 2022 Medium-Density Residential Development of the Year by The Urban Developer. Further recognition came from the Master Builders awards and Architecture MasterPrize.

Calvisi later said the aim with Norfolk was to produce something the Gold Coast had not previously seen.

The penthouse is being marketed through expressions of interest by Dean Pegoraro of Whitefox Gold Coast.