Is flipping new constructions a good idea?

[Anders Rodland]

I live in Austin Texas, where houses are flying off the builders shelf, and people go on a waitlist to build houses. The builders seem to raise their prices every 1-2 week. The market is HOT.

I'm currently on a waitlist (position 20) to build a 4bed 3bath, priced at $400K, in an area that is being heavily developed. My goal is to flip this house as soon it's completed, which could be 1-2 years from now depending upon when I actually get to build. I expect the house to be valued somewhere between $450-500K once completed due to the appreciation.

My agent tells me it's not a good idea to sell it as soon as it's mine, and that I should live in it for 2 years first to get the tax break. It's nice to save on the taxes, but I don't really want to move my family to a new house every time I do this, I just have a strategy to provide some additional income which I then use to buy rentals.

So the questions... Is my agent right, should I not sell it immediately? Or is there some big flaws with this strategy of flipping new constructions that I don't see?