Building with brick is good for your bottom line. Of all exterior finish products, brick has a greater market appeal. Studies by the National Association of Home Builders and other building organizations continually find that 60% of the nation’s homebuyers prefer brick homes. Brick homes command higher selling prices. Brick homes also provide higher profit margins for the builder. To the consumer, a brick home means a sound investment and savings. It increases a home’s investment value, sells faster and brings a higher resale price. Brick is virtually maintenance-free. It never needs painting, caulking or staining. Brick won’t burn or rot like other finish materials, nor will it chip off at the whim of a woodpecker. Brick won’t burn and subsequently can reduce fire insurance premiums. Brick is energy efficient. Its inherent mass qualities help keep a home cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. Brick’s mass also makes it a very effective noise insulator as well. Brick can save thousands of dollars over the life of a mortgage.
To make an accurate side-by-side comparison, we first have to assume that all things are equal on the homes except for the exterior material.
Each home has 4 bedrooms, 2 stories, and 2035 sq. ft. of wall space excluding windows. Each home was financed with a 6.5% 30-year fixedrate mortgage. And all homes have the same base price range of $225,000 before the exterior is installed.
The difference in the costs of exterior materials is accounted for by adding the amount you’d pay for each through your mortgage. Remember, it’s not the total cost of the exterior that’s important, it’s the amount you actually pay for it each year through your mortgage. We are also assuming that every home will appreciate 5% per year. But as you can see, brick – and only brick – adds an additional 6% to a home’s appreciated value.
Now, if you take the increase in value due exclusively to a home’s exterior minus the total costs (the amount you pay for the material through your mortgage, plus maintenance, insurance, and energy costs), you’ll arrive at the net savings or costs after selling any of the homes. The difference is amazing.
But even more amazing is the total amount of dollars brick will save you over vinyl, EIFS and cedar, .For example, after just one year, brick would make you come out $14,580 ahead – brick’s total savings over vinyl after only one year! It’s clear that the competition can’t stack up to brick. So if you’re planning on buying a home now or at any time in the future, remember – it pays to buy brick.
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