The truth is that there is absolutely no correlation between the cost of building a custom home and buying on the real estate market.  This applies even if the home is modest in size…

People build homes because they either just want to or they can’t find what they are looking for in the real estate market.  We tell potential clients that unless they are willing to live in their home at least 15 to 20 years then they shouldn’t build if they are concerned about market value.

I’m Preaching to the Choir… 

We went through this same dilemma in 2014 when we purchased an 8 acre piece of property between Fenton and Hartland.  We were getting close to pulling the trigger to the build and we pulled the plug on it because we didn’t have peace about biting off that kind of chunk, especially if the real estate market could possibly give us something for 1/2 the price.  We were only going to build a 2,200 square foot farm house with an additional 400 sf of space over the garage for our office.  This was a very modest but nice home that we designed.  So, we sold the property and found an old farmhouse (that was really well maintained) on 8 acres and a neat old barn (it included a pool which was a bonus).  Was the home we lived in perfect? No, it wasn’t.  But it had most everything we were looking for, and that’s enough for us.

Our suggestion to folks when they talk to us about either building or buying on the market is to look for a home that has 80% or more of what you like.  If you can find that suits you, then stay with the real estate market.

Who knows, you might fall in love with what you find!

In the fall of 2019, we sold our beloved little farmhouse and moved to our new home in Fenton, Michigan. Although we miss our property, we are so happy to be back home!

This article was written by Chris and Maren Macklin