Blog Post

If you have been on the fence about buying a new home in Greater Virginia, there are plenty of good reasons to finalize your decision sooner rather than later and start living the low-maintenance lifestyle. The main motivating factor should be that, though home prices have stabilized somewhat, they are not expected to decrease any time soon. In fact, they are projected to increase for the foreseeable future. Interest rates are also still low compared to pre-pandemic rates, though these, too, are already rising.

Prices and Rates Expected to Climb

Today, the real estate market is certainly more stable than it was in 2020 and 2021. Then, prices were increasing at breakneck speed as demand shot up. All we heard were stories about bidding wars, waved inspections, and even waved appraisals as buyers brought cash to the closing table.  Now, as demand cools, home prices are, too. But if you think they will start decreasing anytime soon, you may want to think again.

Zillow predicts home prices will rise 16.4% in the next year (as of January 2022), and much of that has to do with the cost of building products and supplies. Lumber, while much more available than it was a year ago, continues to cost well above what it did pre-pandemic, and those costs continue to creep up. The same is true for just about every component of a home — from flooring to HVAC systems to paint. As with housing in general, the demand is just too high as manufacturers struggle to keep up, and prices reflect that.

Demand for new houses isn’t letting up anytime soon. The U.S. currently has underbuilt housing by at least 5.5 million homes. Even as the pace of building picks back up, it will take five or six more years before supply and demand levels out, continuing to buoy the price of homes. 

Still-low interest rates are also a great reason to buy a custom home now. Even with higher home prices, today's low rates help to keep monthly mortgage payments reasonable for many home buyers. And if you have a certain budget that you must stick to, the ability to afford a larger home is an added perk of low interest rates. But they won't stay low forever, and are predicted to rise substantially this year.

Now is the RIGHT Time to Buy New

If you were in "wait and see" mode for the last few years, you have probably looked extensively at our floorplans and chosen what works best for you and your lifestyle. And chances are, you've identified the communities where you’d want to live. Now is the RIGHT time to start the building process, while the lot you want is available and the interest rates are still low. Or, if you prefer to buy a quick move-in home, that is an even better strategy to take advantage of today’s rates and move into your new home sooner. We have our final two quick move-in homes available at our Barley Woods community and three homes available in our newest community, Church Square. 

If you have any questions about getting started with the home building or home buying process, please contact us, we’d love to help! We can help you decide which new home option is the best for you and connect you with our preferred lender to get you the best rate possible. We cannot wait to get you into the RIGHT home, right away!

Learn more from our very own Purchasing Manager, Chris Allen and see what Cornerstone Homes is doing to continue to build quality homes with the customer satisfaction you deserve.