Many people wonder if buying a home that is already built is a better decision than building your own from scratch. This isn’t an easy question to answer, as there are pros and cons of each.

A result of the recent housing crisis is the expanding number of homes that are on the market at lower and lower prices. However, prices of supplies, everything from nails to transportation and production costs based on fuel, are steadily increasing. This automatically makes many believe they should just go ahead and purchase a home that is on the market.

Another point to keep in mind though is that eventually the housing slump will end and then the cost of building your own home will be even greater than it is now. A case in point is the mid 90s when the housing markets rebound caused lumber prices to nearly double and building a home became almost impossible.

And the benefits of building your own home are great. You can put your dream house in the neighborhood of your choosing if you build it yourself. Better yet, many experts believe the average profit on a self-built house ranges from 20% - 30%. Additionally, you’ll have the opportunity to make your new home greener. In today’s green technology everything from insulated construction panels to heating technology, double glazing and ventilation systems has become cheaper and better. Finally, your home will be more unique when it comes time to sell it – a crucial point in any kind of market.

Then again, the cost and hassle of finding an architect, a plot, a builder and everything that goes into creating a new home can be high. You should consider which aspects of having a new home are most important to you and decide whether to build or buy based on those thoughts.