(CHEROKEE LAKE REALTY WRITES A WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE GRAINGER COUNTY JOURNAL NEWSPAPER. THIS WAS A RECENT QUESTION ASKED BY A READER.)
Typically, anything that you purchase today is going to be more expensive than what it cost years ago. There are some exceptions of course. You can buy a large screen television today for a few hundred dollars whereas a few years back it cost you a few thousand dollars. But generally, things today are more expensive than yesterday. As an example, if you purchased a Corvette in 1995 the base price was approximately $37,000. If you purchase the base model today the price is $70,000. And that’s the base price. I have a neighbor who paid close to $200,000 for one. My point is that purchasing a newly built home today will cost you a lot more than if you had one built 30 years ago. And with the ongoing issues with tariffs, material costs, etc., the price could be considerably higher in the next few years.
If you want a home that no one has lived in and one that is exactly what your needs are today, then it’s obviously best to have one built for you. Then you are assured of being the first owner, and you get exactly what you are looking for in a home. Do keep in mind, and I have seen this often, whatever your needs are today will change over the years. Families, aging, work, and neighborhood changes are just some of the issues that make us want to move on. I had a client that built a large, and I do mean very large, building for their RV. This building was bigger than their home. It had all the bells and whistles one could want. Guess what. They eventually traveled less often and decided to sell the RV. They chose to downsize, no longer needed the RV building, and ended up selling their home.
If you can sacrifice some of those needs, and most of the time they are not absolute needs, then look at some existing homes that are for sale. An existing home that is 3,000 square feet with three bedrooms and two full bathrooms on an acre of land will cost you more to duplicate today. Here is a statistic I pulled up. In the year 2000, building a standard single-family home in the Knoxville area averaged roughly $65 to $85 per square foot. By 2025, that average rose to approximately $150 to $270 per square foot for standard construction, while custom or semi-custom builds ranged from $275 to $375+ per square foot. Notice, I said plus. Prices for lumber, concrete, steel, and roofing materials experienced massive post-pandemic spikes and steady long-term appreciation. You add wrap-around decks with Trex-style decking, granite counter tops, large walk-in showers, and the price per square foot increases.
New construction will always be popular and desirable. We all want something new and shiny. There is no existing home for sale that will check all your boxes. It’s not happening. You may want a bit larger kitchen or different cabinets and counter tops, for example. There will be compromises to make. The flip side of that coin is that the new and shiny perfect home that you build today will not be as perfect down the road as life brings changes. I know I did not give you a simple answer, but I hope I’ve raised a few points that help you make the best decision. Please let me know if I can assist further.
