In today’s struggling economy, with so much real estate available on the cheap, and home loans at record low interest rates, there’s one housing option that is all too often overlooked: building your own dream home. Perhaps the reason for this is that the price of new construction hasn’t really come down, at least not in proportion to the value of real estate in general.

Some would suggest that that means this is a poor time to build a house. But we’re not so sure. Builders are looking for work. In some parts of the country, they’re getting desperate for work. And that sometimes means you can get the job done cheaper.

In one respect, we agree with those who say this is not the time to build. If you’re planning to build a house for speculative reasons, so you can sell it for a profit in a year or two, then they are right. You should not build. If, however, you want to design and build the home of your dreams so that you can live in it, then this is as good a time as any to build.

One advantage to building now is that home loans are at an unheard of low. If your credit is good enough, you can actually get a mortgage for 4.5%! Make sure you lock into that rate. Trust us, it isn’t going much lower, and will likely go much higher sooner rather than later.

Designing and building your own home has become a bit of a lost art, and it can be a bit pricier than buying a home that’s already been built. But if you want the final verdict on whether or not it’s a good idea to have your own home built, ask anybody who’s done it. You’ll get the same answer time and time again: it was a lot of work, and it was expensive, but it was the best thing we ever did.

The reason is simple. No matter what you want in a home, you’re going to have to compromise some if you’re buying a pre existing house. You’ll get some of what you want, but not all, and you’ll need to prioritize. As long as you have enough funding, that’s not a problem when building your own home. You can have it designed exactly the way you wanted it, exactly the way you always dreamed.

Photo via Jorge Quinteros