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Should I move forward with new construction in light of economic downturn from COVID?

Hi everyone. I'm hoping for some advice as to what to do about a new construction purchase I committed to just before the pandemic.

I put down a $7K deposit on a $500K new home build in Southern California from major national builder. This is after upgrades (a lot of kitchen upgrades, modest upgrades in other areas, as well as mandatory solar), but still lots of areas that I decided to upgrade after getting the keys. It's in an okay area (not great) and is priced $50K-100K above the immediate surrounding neighborhood, but still cheaper than older homes just a couple miles west. It's going to be a nice community from what I can tell. For comparison, within 10-15 miles, all other new builds are in the $650K+ before upgrades range and getting closer to Orange County gets up into the $1.1-1.5 million range.

Before the COVID craziness, the cost seemed okay and I was budgeting for further upgrades to do once I got the keys but before I moved in. This would include putting in quartz counter tops with quartz backspash, and a kitchen island (~$4.5K), putting in vinyl plank to half the square footage ($3k), window dressings ($1k), interior paint ($3k), and some simple landscaping of the backyard (~$4-7k). And tack on furniture costs as well.

Prior to the shutdowns, the lots were selling pretty well and the base prices were going up for new sales. Now though, it looks like they had a few people back out since Zillow now shows a few move-in ready homes. There are no discounts on these homes at all.

So now with the economy as it is and a possible drop in home prices, coupled with the community having some unsold homes, I'm questioning whether I should move forward. Financially I should be okay, even though my salary has taken a hit from the shutdown.

Is this a time to just walk away and sacrifice my $7K to save major headaches later? Or perhaps try to drastically negotiate the price down now that I have leverage? I doubt any major builder will be willing to drop the price below the base list price of the new homes, but maybe I could convince them to waive the $40K in total upgrades.

I was hoping they would stop construction for a while since, the longer before I have to close escrow, the better idea I'll have of where the housing market is going. As it stands, currently construction is still on schedule and the closing date should be sometime mid-summer.

submitted by /u/valjean_10642
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/gam49h/should_i_move_forward_with_new_construction_in/
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