Building a Home is Easier Than Buying in a Hot Market
Buyers are looking for more space after lockdown, fewer homes are on the market, and remote workers are looking to move to emerging cities.
The Raleigh housing market is experiencing a quick rebound after the coronavirus, surprising even real estate agents. New listings sell in just 2.1 months on average, according to Triangle Multiple Listing Services, making it an increasingly competitive market for potential buyers. Playing a role are low mortgage interest rates and the readjustment by the housing industry for virtual sales. The more interesting trends are also worth mentioning: buyers looking for more space after being in lockdown for months, fewer homes are causing a sellers market, and Raleigh’s attractiveness as a place to live, especially with a growing number of remote workers. Luckily there’s a solution for buyers looking to purchase during this upswing—building a custom home.
Why is the housing market so competitive?
More space
As people continue to adjust to the new normal and offices shift to permanent remote work, many are realizing that normal now includes using their homes as an office and school for the foreseeable future. This has caused potential buyers to look for larger homes with dedicated home office spaces and outdoor spaces — features that can be hard to find in the existing housing stock. Real estate agents have said they’ve seen a spike in requests for these amenities especially if the home is priced below $400,000. All homes that get added to the market are getting more eyeballs and multiple offers.
Fewer homes on the market
The houses that get placed on the market also have more competition because there’s currently a small inventory of homes available. Partly this is because of supply shortages and a new desire from a growing segment of the population to move to their own home. It gets particularly difficult to buy a home in hot neighborhoods, where there may only be one or two homes for sale at a time. The quantity of homes that are listed may increase soon as lockdown restrictions loosen but the number of potential buyers may also increase with it.
Raleigh is the draw
The growing trend to really keep an eye on is the growing number of remote workers that may soon be competing for homes in desirable locations like Raleigh. It and other emerging cities in North Carolina like Charlotte and Durham, have all recently been named in the Top 20 Remote-Friendly cities. Employers in cities like San Francisco and New York are going remote-only/friendly long term and their employees will be looking for more space, lower cost of living, and a vibrant city area for when the pandemic allows more socializing. Raleigh is also continuing to see a rise in industry headquarters in research and development, manufacturing, life sciences, technology and more, considering a move to the area.
Build your dream home
Custom homes often feel out of reach for most people, but perhaps now is the perfect time to look at it as a viable option. Trying to find a great home is a struggle at any time, but it is especially difficult when there’s already this much competition (and more on the way!). Instead of searching for a home that someone else built for their needs, spending time and money to renovate it to fit your needs—search for a lot in a neighborhood you like and build the home that’s just right for you.
What does building a home with Atmos look like?
The Atmos platform allows you to build a home from design to move in day with a concierge to guide you through the entire process. How it works:
Location: Our platform has all available lots in Raleigh by neighborhood and/or price. Keep track of the lots you like by favoriting them and when you’re ready, we walk you through how to buy it. (If you already have a lot, bypass this step.)
Home: We’ve worked with architects to aggregate 10,000 designs that you can browse based on the style of home you like, price range and the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, floors, square footage. An Atmos concierge will be your liaison between the home of your dreams and the architects and builders that will bring it to life.
Amenities: The Atmos concierge talks you through your options for choosing the appliances, landscaping, flooring and roofing.
Financing: If you’d like us to help you with the loan application process, we’ve got a partnered lender to guide you through the entire process and make sure you get pre-approved in a timely manner. Once you’re pre-approved and ready to get started on the build, there is a security deposit required to move forward.
Building: Atmos works to get you the best vetted builder that specializes in the type of home you’re building. Throughout the build, you’ll have a dedicated project manager that will check in once a week to make sure that it’s staying within budget and deadline.
Homebuilding until now has focused on DIYers, who can spend years building the homes of their dreams or the ultra-rich that have the money to work with architects and builders that cater to their very specialized demands. But building a home should not require years or tons of money! By building with Atmos, you’ll know how much time and money it will take to build your home from the start. And the Atmos concierge is there to ensure that your build does not go over budget or past the deadline—which are the biggest reasons why 9/10 people say they would never build another home.
If you’re ready to get started on building your dream home, visit us at buildatmos.com. We’re now live in Raleigh, Charlotte and Durham and we’ll be launching in other fast growing cities soon!
