Have you factored in builders risk insurance, closing costs, realtor fees, price increases (lumber up 180% in the last 14 months), etc? 

There was even a misguided mantra in our industry of "one year and one day" for a bunch of years.The bottom line is that any specific time frame is a guess based on a very very small body of case law. 

I *think* engineered hardwood is less likely to scratch, and I have emailed the builder to confirm, but not yet received a response.

My builder sold my neighbor home less then 120K.

@Josh Smith With it being so new, maybe there might be a home warranty still in place from the builder.

The Numbers: -Purchase Price: $509,250-Appraised Value: $538,000-Initial Equity on Buy: $28,250-Down Payment: $40,000-Mortgage: $2,546/month (PITI + Condo Fee) -Projected Rents for new construction condo in Petworth: $2,800/month-Potential Cash Flow once he moves out: $254/month-Very low CapEX due to being new construction and has builders warranties for 2 years, manafaucters warranty for 1 year.

The forebarence is one issue, but another altogether is the fact that new construction is lagging MASSIVELY compared to where it was AND compared to where it needs to be in order to satisfy the difference between demand and supply in many markets, meaning as interest rates continue to be down and demand continues to be up, it is unlikely that we will significantly push the market back to being a a"buyers market", or even back towards being balanced, for several years.Add to that the fact that our GOV does not seem spine-full enough to put stimulus or tax breaks towards builders to subsidize the hair-raising cost increase of builds in any massive way, but continues to thing helicopter money is a good idea. 

I am a local builder in the greater New Orleans area but would be willing to speak with anyone at this point. 

I am not a builder so I have that disadvantage but I am familiar with many of the pieces that go into a home.  

Pros of buying new construction- if a good builder, you don't have to deal with maintenance and repairs as often- lower monthly cap-ex reserves- as a buyer you get a lot of confessions from the builder- new construction can typically get higher rents (if in the same neighborhood as a privately owned property)Cons of buying new construction- you are paying a premium - typically cash flows less than doing a value-addPros of buying a privately owned home- can purchase at a significant discount- higher risk higher return - typically cash flows more - can refinance sooner because of forced appreciation and use the equity on the next purchase- learn a ton from doing your own renovations Cons of buying a privately owned home - a good deal can be tough to find - have to deal with repairs and maintenance- higher monthly reserves for cap-ex - don't really know what's "behind the wall" until you start the renovation process