The Case for New Construction
A home built to today’s code. Homes built since Florida’s 2020 building code update come with meaningfully better storm resilience — impact glass, hip roofs, hurricane strapping, and higher finished-floor elevations. That’s not marketing; it’s structural, and it can translate into real insurance savings over time.
Builder warranties. Most production builders offer a tiered warranty: roughly one year on workmanship and materials, two years on major systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), and a longer structural warranty — often ten years — on load-bearing elements. That’s a real cushion resale buyers don’t get, since a resale home’s systems are only as new as whoever last replaced them.
Choice, if you buy early enough. Depending on where a community is in its release schedule, you may be able to pick your homesite, floor plan, and finishes — something no resale listing offers.
Amenities keep coming. In the biggest master-planned communities, clubhouses, trails, and retail continue to open in phases after you close, so your home’s surrounding value can keep building.
The Hidden Costs of New Construction
This is where I see buyers get surprised, and it’s worth walking through each one honestly.
Lot Premiums
Not all homesites in a community are priced the same. Preserve views, cul-de-sacs, corner lots, water frontage, and larger lots typically carry a premium over the base price — sometimes tens of thousands of dollars. That premium is separate from (and stacks on top of) the base house price you see advertised.
Impact Fees
This is the line item almost nobody budgets for, and it has moved a lot recently.
These fees are baked into the builder’s price on new construction, but they explain part of why new homes carry a real premium over comparable resale homes — and why that gap has been widening rather than shrinking.
Design Center Upgrades
The base price you see in a builder’s ad almost never reflects what most buyers actually pay. Structural options (extended lanais, tray ceilings, extra square footage) have to be locked in early because they affect the build, while design center selections — cabinets, countertops, flooring, tile, appliances — are where costs quietly climb. It’s common for buyers to add tens of thousands of dollars at the design center, so it pays to get a real “loaded” price estimate before you fall in love with a base floor plan.
CDD and HOA Fees
Community Development District fees are standard across most newer Sarasota-area communities and fund the roads, utilities, and amenities inside the neighborhood. They’re a recurring cost layered on top of your mortgage and HOA dues, and they should factor into your total monthly carrying cost — not just your purchase price.
Current Build Timelines: What to Actually Expect
Timelines vary a lot by builder and by whether you’re buying a to-be-built home or an already-started “quick move-in” home.
A to-be-built home on a standard production plan typically takes 6 to 12 months from contract to close. However, if you choose a semi-custom floor plan, add significant structural options (like extended lanais, structural second stories, or custom outdoor kitchens), or face specialty material lead times, that window can easily stretch up to 18 months. By contrast, inventory or “spec” homes that are already underway can close in as little as 30 to 60 days.
- Permitting adds to the runway. Sarasota County new residential permits generally take 4 to 8 weeks to process, Manatee County runs a similar timeline through its online portal, and Charlotte County is the fastest of the three at around 2.5 weeks. Production builders using pre-approved plans move noticeably faster through this stage than custom builds.
- Rate locks matter here. Buyers typically lock in 60 to 90 days before the estimated completion date, and extended locks running 120 to 360 days cost an extra 0.5 to 1.5 points upfront — worth discussing with your lender before you sign a builder contract with a long completion window.
- The market backs this up. Absorption in the region’s top master-planned communities runs about 3 to 6 homes per community per month, and move-in-ready spec inventory has tightened compared to 2024, which gives builders a bit more negotiating leverage even as they continue offering select incentives.
The bottom line: if you need to be in a home within 60 days, a to-be-built contract is the wrong tool. A spec home or a resale is the realistic path.
Turnkey Resale: The Case for Existing Homes
Resale homes flip the equation. What you see is what you get — mature landscaping, an established neighborhood, no design center invoices, and a closing timeline measured in weeks rather than months. You can walk the actual house, not a model with $80,000 of upgrades you won’t get at the base price. You’ll also typically pay lower CDD exposure if the community’s infrastructure bonds are already paid down.
The tradeoffs run the other way: older systems (roof, HVAC, water heater) may be approaching replacement, the home may predate the 2020 hurricane-hardened building code, and you have less room to change the layout without a renovation project layered onto your purchase.
So Which Is Right for You?
Ask yourself three questions:
- How firm is your move-in date? If you need to close in under three months, existing inventory or a builder’s spec home wins. If you have 6–12 months of flexibility, building opens up more choice.
- What’s your true “all-in” number? For new construction, get a fully loaded estimate that includes lot premium, impact fees, design center selections, and CDD fees — not just the base price on the sign.
- How much do you want to customize versus walk through today? If you want to see and touch the exact home you’re buying, resale removes the guesswork. If you want a say in the floor plan and finishes, new construction is worth the wait.
Whichever direction you’re leaning, the builder’s sales representative works for the builder — not for you. Having your own buyer’s agent costs you nothing in a new-construction purchase, and it means someone is reviewing price-lock provisions, change-order policies, and cancellation terms with your interests in mind before you sign.