To build or not to build?

My wife and I are both well-employed and looking to build a new home with a homebuilder. I manage a construction company, and she works for a technology firm. We’ve been pre-approved and have $40,000 saved for a down payment. I do have one concern, though. We’d still be on the hook for a $470,000 mortgage, which is expected. However, with the current administration making moves I’ve never seen before—like imposing tariffs on Canada and Elon Musk gaining access to the U.S. Treasury system—I’m worried about what the economy might look like in the next 12 months. Given these uncertainties, is building a home still a good idea? I’d appreciate hearing both sides of the argument. Thank you!

Your lumber package just went up in price by $10,000, and you should be concerned about the economy; everyone should. I would give it a year and see how this all shakes out. Go over to the construction forum and see what those guys are saying. Between labor no longer showing up for work and now tariffs, they’re unnerved.

We buy 25% of all building materials from Canada and Mexico, and a not-trivial percent from China, so I’d hold off on making a commitment to build right now.

What are both sides? Material costs will rise, that’s a given. Can you find a house you love for less and make the changes it needs?

Building a one-off custom home is typically much more expensive than buying an existing home. But you manage a construction company; what do you think?

This, 100%. We are finishing up a custom renovation, and it was way more expensive and took way longer than expected. Would have definitely bought an existing place had we not spent years looking without success.

Maybe go with a super basic home and do the custom work yourself?! I’m sure that you may have already considered and are doing that. New homes are so nice. We bought ours new… and it was worth it. Just live your life.