From the Field

New Construction Insights

Plain-language guidance for Treasure Valley buyers — written by Jerod Lee, negotiating builder contracts, attending pre-drywall walkthroughs, and protecting buyers since 2005 in transactions most agents only see once or twice a year.
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How Long Does a New-Construction Build Take — and How Do You Time the Sale of the Home You're Leaving?

A new-construction build runs in phases — contract and design, permitting, construction, and final inspection — and each phase has its own timeline and its own risk of slipping. If you are selling the home you live in to move into the build, the question is not "how long does the build take" but "when should my current home be under contract so the two closings meet." The usual answer is to list the current home when the build reaches the phase where the completion date becomes reliable, and to plan for the possibility that it does not.

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SEPTEMBER 2026

Do I Need My Agent Before Touring a Model Home in Idaho?

The person greeting you at a Treasure Valley model home — in Eagle, Meridian, Kuna, or Boise — is almost always a licensed sales agent working on behalf of the builder. In Idaho's agency framework, the builder is that agent's client: the party who has signed a written agreement for representation. Idaho Code § 54-2083 defines a client as someone who has "entered into an express written contract or agreement with a brokerage for agency representation," and defines everyone else — including you, if you haven't signed your own agreement — as a customer.

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AUGUST 2026

What Builder Incentives Should You Accept in the Treasure Valley — and Which Are Traps?

An incentive is anything the builder gives you to move the deal forward without cutting the home's listed price — a closing-cost credit, a rate buydown, free or discounted upgrades, a waived lot premium. Builders lean on incentives instead of price cuts for a specific reason: the recorded sale price becomes a comparable (a "comp") that the appraiser and the next buyer will see. A builder in a Meridian or Kuna community would rather hand you $15,000 in credits than drop the price $15,000, because the lower price would drag down every home they still have to sell in that subdivision.

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On the Horizon

Topics being written next — practical answers to the questions buyers actually ask.

Coming Soon
How to evaluate a production builder before signing a contract
Coming Soon
What a new construction walkthrough should actually cover
Coming Soon
The real difference between buying new construction and resale

Have a question I haven't written about yet?

If you're evaluating new construction in the Treasure Valley and there's something specific on your mind, just ask. I'd rather answer your question directly than have you guess from a generic article.

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Direct: JLee@myhomeconnection.com  ·  Jerod Lee  ·  Associate Broker, My Home Connection by REAL Broker LLC