A simple way to get an estimate on your dream home (or your realistic starter home) by choosing from visuals!

It can be easy to figure out how much an existing home costs. Just hop onto a website like Zillow or Redfin and see how much the homes in your preferred area are going for. But what if you want you want to build something new? This dream home calculator allows you to get a ballpark cost of building a new house in an easy way. The calculator will ask you your preference for things like style of home, fixtures, and outdoor amenities, then you answer by selecting which picture best represents what you would like. Building a brand new home might not be in the cards for everyone, but this could be a great tool for comparing the cost of building new to existing housing inventory.

Check out the Dream Home Calculator.

Please note: The calculator lets you select your answers and get a cost estimate without any other actions. The last screen asks if you would like to input personal information to receive more information about building a house and this is NOT required.

Questions:

• What would be some of the pros and cons of buying an existing house compared to building new?
• Which items from the calculator do you view as needs when it comes to choosing a house? Which items do you view as wants?
• If you had to lower the cost of building a new house to fit your budget, where would you make cuts in your house?
• If you had extra money in your budget, where would you make improvements in your house?
• If you were ready to buy your first house, do you think you would want to buy an existing house or build new? Explain why.

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NGPF's Buying a House mini unit will give your students the confidence they need to approach this intimidating subject!

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Looking for more interactives? Be sure to check out the NGPF Interactive Library. 

About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan grew up with and maintains a love for learning. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay with a degree in Business Administration and worked in sports marketing for a number of years. After living in Texas, Colorado, Tennessee, and Minnesota, the call of education eventually brought Ryan back to his home state of Wisconsin where he was a Business and Marketing teacher for three years. In his free time he likes to spend time with his wife and daughter, play basketball, read, and go fishing. Now with NGPF, Ryan is excited to help teachers lead the most important course their students will ever take.