We can build year round on Hilton Head

We can start building homes any time of the year on Hilton Head Island!  As with any market, with more demand, prices will rise. Demand in the middle of 2009 was at a 10 year low. However, the later part of 2009 and the start of 2010 has revealed a steady increase in building new homes. Overall, construction costs are currently lower than the past few years. However, as the building market continues its long and steady re-growth, costs to build will increase accordingly. 
 
It all starts off with a good plan
The surest and best way to keep construction costs under control and within budget is to take the time up-front to work out all the details. Building a new home is exciting and fun, but rushing to start building before you have all the costs figured out can be frustrating in the end. All that being said, estimate about 6-8 weeks to design and complete the house plans, 2-4 weeks to work thru costs and budgets, 2-3 weeks for permitting. All to total about 10-15 weeks to be ready to “break ground”.
   
Home sites on Hilton Head offer low pricing

There are several factors driving a stronger building market in 2010. Homeowners are seeing that the economy is on a rebound – they see prices only going up. People are taking advantage of the lower costs of construction. People are also taking advantage of great deals on lots and on Hilton Head, “teardowns” offer opportunity too.  In fact, people are able once again to get prime location property in which to build. With the market and economy having been in the dumps in the past two years – people are excited to be working on remodeling their existing homes and/or building new homes!

Bigger is not always better on Hilton Head
There are many great trends in new construction. The market is realizing that bigger is not necessarily better. Simply put, a smaller home is less expensive to build and maintain. Green has never been more in than right now. Government tax credits and incentives are driving homeowners to incorporate Energy Star products and materials that are environmentally friendly. The benefits are
great for lower energy costs and also add to property value at time of re-sale.
       
This is an exciting time to build a home.

Over the last 6-8 years we obviously had a great building market. In that time, many great products, methods and materials were developed for new home construction. Suppliers and manufacturers had the ability to step out and research new products such as the all-in-one hybrid inline water heaters, better quality floorcoverings and wall coverings, better produced building materials. The busy recent building market allowed for many manufacturers to learn how to make their products better.

Looking ahead for 2010 on Hilton Head       
The things to look out for in 2010 are that construction costs will start to climb in the latter part of the year as demand increases. As always, make sure that your builder/contractor uses the right quality materials for the desired end product. As consumers are looking for the very lowest price, hungry contractors might sacrifice the quality of the material to get the price that the homeowner wants. In some instances, this may not be bad – in others, it could be a problem. Communicate with your contractor to insure that you get what you want. It may cost more than you think, but as long as it is done they way you want and it lasts like you want – it should be worth it!
       
I encourage everyone that is considering building to start now!

When you consider that (1) there have never been better interest rates, (2)construction costs are down, (3)the many cutting edge materials and products now on the market, (4)the government is offering great tax incentives for Green building, (5) your construction project will generate more jobs for the economy
(6) by building new, you can build a cutting edge green home that will have great marketability when you do go to sell it! 

Scott Bunting with Bunting Construction submitted this article.  You may contact Scott Bunting directly at (843)384-7468 or at SBunting@buntingcompany.com