New Construction Rebates Help Everyone

If you’re in the market for a home in Anchorage you know things are tight right now. Housing prices are high and inventory is low. Not the best combination for prospective homebuyers. What drives the cost and availability of housing comes down to a complex set of criteria including local, state and national regulations, interest rates, price and availability of materials and land, and so much more. Inventory also plays a big role and there’s simply not enough housing for everyone. 

Alaska’s limited stock drives up home prices and creates competition. Alaska needs more housing and the only way to add homes is by building new ones. New construction is good for everyone. When homebuyers choose to build they not only add housing to the market, they remove themselves from the pool of homebuyers bidding on existing homes. 

Incentivizing homebuyers to build is an effective way to add inventory. Recently, the Alaska State Legislature allocated $7 million for a new construction home rebate program. The program survived the Governor’s July vetoes and is now out for public comment. For more information about the public comment visit: https://www.ahfc.us/about-us/notices/requests-comment

While this program is capped at $7 million, it could potentially result in more than $200 million in new energy efficient housing statewide. For example, if the average new construction home price is $600,000 by offering a rebate of $20,000 as part of this program, Alaskan homebuyers are leveraging the state’s investment at a 30 to 1 ratio.

The program is limited to new construction because if a down payment rebate program were to be used for all housing, it would only create additional bidding wars on the limited number of available homes. By limiting the program to new construction homes, it will exponentially expand the amount of dollars invested in Alaska’s housing stock.

Building homes is about building a better community for everyone. New construction provides Alaskans with safe, energy efficient homes. With more on the market, there will be something for everyone.  

NOTE: Information about the new construction home rebate program is up to date as of time of printing.