Centerfield

I wonder what the breakdown is between those who really want "new" and those actual desire is more like "custom." Personally, I have no particular desire for a new house. But to get one with adequate power outlets in the home office for all the computer gear, a sensible floor plan, etc.? Now that would be a huge plus.

Yep yep.

Frankly from what I've seen, buying a home built any later than 1980 or so means having to inspect the structure VERY carefully for quality of build. But the newer the house, the more likely the wiring and such is adapted to today's electronic demands. Another item that's been big the last fifteen years or so is that third garage space--which almost no one uses for cars. They use them for storage. We gots too much stuff nowadays!

Side note--the article notes builders as hidebound in their thinking, but they're often tied down by local construction codes from getting too innovative.

As for quality of construction, well, I've seen new homes with minor foundation cracks. My house was built in 1967, and the foundations has NO cracks despite shifting soils that have tried to pull my porch off. In some new homes the separation between weight-bearing studs is as much as 22". In my 1967 version, it's 14". And so on.

I wonder how much codes vary from state to state, I'm sure there's quite a bit. Here in MA, studs have been 16" between since forever...they were 16 in my childhood home built in 1966, and they're 16" now in my current 1994-built house.

Caveat emptor situation, house buying, but my impression of MA is that newer homes are at least as well-built if not better do to code improvements. Footing under foundations used to be subject to less stringent codes than nowadays.

Materials have changed quite a bit though, and you have to wonder if that now routinely used chipboard plywood is going to hold up as sheating. One of the biggest changes, and the awfulest, is in flooring. Round here, hardwood flooring used to be quite common, but now almost all new homes have horrible allergen sponge wall to wall carpeting, a pox on humanity, IMO. Unless you buy a new home that's custom built and foot the extra cost, you get wall to wall and linoleum, neither of which ages gracefully.

Another newer construction method you need to watch out for is the use of prefab roof trusses. Tons of dough can be saved by using prefab trusses made from 2X4 stock and spaced in a similar fashion as studs... but you lose all that storage space. I think this may be a reason why we see more Mcmansions these days...if all the roof is trussed, you need more square footage for storage. Our house is a garrison colonial roughly 32X24 (top floor 26 not 24), so our square footage by rules is about 1600 sq ft, but we have a good 300 or 400 feet of attic storage if necessary, plus a full basement with bonafide 7.5 ft ceiling clearance. If you have a 5BR mcmansion with trussed roofs, you may not end up with that much more living space if you have to fill one BR and half the basement with your crap.

Pre-fab trusses are one reason there's so many "vault" ceilings nowadays. Since no one really builds usable attic space any more.

I wonder how much codes vary from state to state, I'm sure there's quite a bit.

Enormously, and that's before you take corruption and slipshod inspection into account. Local building codes are one of the ways local builders keep down the pressure from out-of-area competition.