What new construction really costs
Start with the base price, then add honestly: design-center upgrades (published reporting puts typical build-job upgrade spend around 12–17% of base — inventory homes have them baked in), lot premium, and the full tax rate including any MUD or PID assessment. Then subtract honestly: flex cash, closing-cost credits, and the monthly value of any rate buydown. Builders advertising rates in the high 4s against a resale market in the low-to-mid 6s are offering real monthly savings — if the preferred-lender terms survive a same-day comparison with an outside Loan Estimate.
What resale really offers
Established pockets — most of Keller, central Roanoke, older Haslet acreage — sell things no design center stocks: mature trees, settled foundations with a visible track record, known drainage, finished fences and sprinklers (a genuine four-to-five-figure line item new buyers discover late), no construction traffic for the next three years, and usually a plain-vanilla tax rate with no MUD/PID. Against that: an older mechanical clock. Roof, HVAC, and water heater ages belong in your offer math, not your afterthoughts.
The honest comparison, in one table
| Line | New build | Resale |
|---|---|---|
| Financed rate | Buydowns advertised in the high 4s–5s (conditions apply) | Market rate — recently reported around the low-to-mid 6s |
| Hidden adds | Upgrades, lot premium, MUD/PID taxes, back-yard finish | Roof/HVAC age, deferred maintenance, inspection findings |
| Negotiation style | Incentives over price cuts — Ledger decodes them | Classic price and repairs negotiation |
| Timing | Inventory homes: fast. Builds: months, plus rate-lock risk | Your closing calendar |
| Wins when | Payment is the constraint and incentives are rich | Total cost of ownership and location maturity are the constraint |
The one-line rule: compare total monthly payment and total cash to close, on paper, same day, both paths. Every number above is a range compiled from published sources as of August 2026 — your quotes are the real data.
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