The question is “Better to buy new or second hand”?
The decision is personal and depends on the circumstances and tastes of each one. But, as a general rule, second-hand homes require some kind of renovation to make them to the future owner’s taste, have an older approach and design, have higher energy costs than new constructions and may have some kind of defect or defect.
On the other hand, new homes have been built under the standards set by the current market and, in theory, are free of flaws and defects and currently, new housing is a better response to residential preferences than second-hand ones, especially because of the better quality and sustainability measures, which result in energy and economic savings.
But, what do we have to know before buying a new building?
One of the first steps is to set the budget and it is very important in the case of new construction because generally the prices are “less negotiable” because the builder-developer has already “calculated” the final price based on their cost/benefit.
Second step, and this is very important to know, the “arras” are not exactly the same as when we buy a second hand house.
Why?
In most of the cases the promoters will sign a private agreement where the most important point is that in case the buyer needs a mortgage and it is not granted, he will lose everything he has paid before.
How much is paid before signing the deed?
Normally 20% of the value of the property plus VAT (10%), and remember that buying a new building you pay VAT and you pay it to the promoter (not like the ITP tax which has to be paid to the Treasury within 30 days after the deed).
It is important not to embark on a mortgage beyond your means. You have to choose one whose monthly payments will not be a problem in the future and currently it is advisable to choose a variable mortgage since the forecast is that from 2024 the interest rates will go down, and in any case even if in 2024 the inflation does not go below the 2% target of the central banks in the next 10 years the economic cycle will be different from what we have lived in the last 10 years with interest rates practically at zero.
Also according to us it is advisable if we want to buy a new building to value the “new residential areas” that usually have an urbanistic project of rehabilitation and revaluation that will allow us in the future to have a property whose value could increase due to the new public services that usually follow this rehabilitation.
Of course when choosing to buy a property there are no fixed criteria and we can never say if it is better a new construction or a second hand property but if we focus our search on the property without importing the area and if we do not want to reform it could be a good option also for the future but always informing us about the environment and the urbanistic plan.
Do not hesitate to contact us, we are in Carrer Tuset 16 Local 8 in Barcelona and Carrer Pou Fondo 1 Manacor in Mallorca.
