Free Tool
New Construction vs. Resale Calculator
Compare a new build and an existing home side by side: the cash you’ll need at closing, your estimated monthly payment, and what each home may cost you over five years.
Example numbers are filled in to get you started. Replace them with the real figures from your lender, builder, listing, and insurance quotes. Results update as you type.
How this works
The assumptions behind the numbers
No calculator can capture every detail of a real purchase. Here’s exactly what this one does — and doesn’t — include, so you can judge the results for yourself.
Cash needed upfront
Down payment + estimated closing costs − builder incentive or seller credit + one-time move-in costs.
Credits are applied only up to the amount of your closing costs. Credits larger than that usually can’t be taken as cash, and lenders limit how much a seller or builder can contribute depending on the loan type.
Monthly housing cost
Principal and interest on a standard fixed-rate loan, plus property taxes, insurance, HOA dues, CDD or assessments (divided into monthly amounts), mortgage insurance if it applies, and a monthly set-aside for maintenance.
Mortgage insurance is estimated only when you put down less than 20%, and it drops off once the loan balance reaches 78% of the purchase price.
Five-year cost
Everything you’d pay over the first five years, minus the part that becomes equity: your down payment and the loan principal you pay down.
It does not include home value changes, selling costs, tax deductions, refinancing, or what your cash could have earned elsewhere.
Costs held steady
Taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and CDD fees are kept the same for all five years. In real life they usually rise, sometimes sharply.
New construction taxes: the first tax bill may be based on the land only. Estimate taxes on the full finished home, or your payment could jump after the first year.
Builder incentives
Incentives can be used different ways: closing costs, a lower interest rate, upgrades, or a lower price. Here, the incentive field is money toward closing costs. If an incentive buys down your rate, enter the reduced rate instead. If it’s a price reduction, lower the purchase price.
Ask whether the rate buydown is temporary (for example, the first one or two years) or permanent. This calculator assumes the rate you enter lasts for the whole loan.
Maintenance
A newer home typically needs fewer repairs in its first years, but not zero, and a resale home’s condition varies widely. Adjust these percentages after an inspection and a look at the age of the roof, HVAC, and water heater.
The example numbers are starting points, not facts about any specific home or area.