Utah New Construction Consulting and Sales | Sydney Rosenblatt

Speculative New Construction

Speculative construction (“spec or production home”) is a residential residence built without a pre-existing buyer, betting on future market demand and preferences. The goal is to deliver a move-in ready, broadly appealing property that will sell quickly for profit, it comes with upfront capital exposure and vacancy risk for the builder (key difference). Speculative construction allows a flexible or small fixed deposit that is often refundable. The more custom your building becomes the more deposits, costs, and risk involved.

Semi-Custom New Construction

Semi-custom construction is when a buyer selects a builder’s pre-designed floor plan and personalizes it with curated finish options provided by a homebuilder (flooring, cabinetry, counters, paint, lighting, appliances). It sits between spec and fully custom building, limited upgrades and or minor structural options. It offers a more predictable 6–12+ month timeline and lower cost than fully custom, with less risk and decision fatigue than designing from scratch. Deposits are often a fixed amount or percent of your chosen upgrades.

Fully-Custom New Construction

Fully custom construction is a ground-up homebuilding process, it offers full customization with full responsibility. Usually requiring you to purchase the lot first with enough due diligience about utilties and soil structure. You'll have to work with specific contractors that you'll pay in advance of construction, it will require city involvement, and finanicial risk tolerance. These projects typically take 12–18+ months and cost the most per square foot typically but it can be a fantastic option if you have the time and the risk tolerance.

Financing

Buyer beware of preferred lenders. A small fraction of preferred lenders are outstanding but others can have inflated mortgage rates and limited options. Addtionally, advertised rates may include thousands or even tens of thousand in incentives used toward rate buy-down programs which doesn't leave any concession left for your closing costs. You can buy a new construction home with zero down, inquire today.

Contracts

Purchase contracts that involve construction often come with real consequences if you cancel or decide to change course after you’ve committed. Depending on the terms, you could lose thousands of dollars once decisions are finalized and deadlines pass. Make sure you read the fine print with your agent, understand the key timelines, and only move forward when you’re genuinely comfortable and ready to commit to the build process including being confident you’ll remain financially confident when the home is finished and it’s time to close, interest rates can't be locked too early on.

Upgrades

Buyer beware of choosing too many upgrades that push the price beyond what the home may appraise for especially if the builder’s contract requires you to cover any appraisal gap. This includes appliances and other high-dollar add-ons that appraisers may not credit in their valuation at all. Also, many upgrade deposits are nonrefundable, so choose intentionally and understand the risk before committing.

Inspections

Just because a property is new doesn’t mean you should skip an inspection. Many buyers do, but peace of mind is priceless. New construction due diligence can include a general home inspection, sewer scope, and specialty checks like mold, meth testing, and infrared scanning because imperfections can still exist, even in a brand-new build.