Should I buy a new home or an older home at a slightly lower price but in need of work?

I would like to make some money from this investment, but the market is not good to sellers in this market. I can get either one for less than what it was worth a year ago. If I buy an older home for roughly 130k, I'd need to put about 15-20k to get it into top shape but the max it could sell for would be around 155-160k, so not much $ to be made. On the other hand I could build brand new for around 150-170k and when this new devolpment is completed, the neighborhood will be very nice and could possibley (key word there because there is no way to know exactly what a comp would go for yet) get 200k. I'm looking to buy now and sell in 2-5 years. If anyone has any sort of first hand info or expirience with flipping an older house, buying and selling a new house, making or losing money on real estate, It would be nice to hear. Thanks.

Why look for older homes that need work or speculate on whether new homes will increase fastest. I have always found great deals in all sorts of markets by looking for 1 unknown factor that is often a goldmine. Look for homes that don't need work per se look for ones that need an agent that actually does any work. I can find desperate sellers in any market on any day and that's where the best deals are often had. Not desperate sellers due to being in pre-foreclosure, not desperate sellers because of a trashy yard, and not desperate sellers because of needing repairs either. There are plenty of the previous type in every city, I'm speaking of the desperate sellers because their agents are totally worthless and these folks are hungry for a deal, almost any deal. In over 20 years of experience I have never found a market anywhere in the country where more than 40% of the listing agents were, in my opinion, competent. Look for sellers that have reduced their price several times and still have higher than average market time. An agent can do this for you, they can also look for sales data for competing offices and pull listings from poor performing agents. It is often because of that, and not the need for repairs, where I have made the most margin.

Go new, better heating system, cooling, electrical, roof, etc. If you're looking for a lower cost house, build a nice ranch with a basement, 2 level homes are costly to heat. Don't overdo the look though, if the neighborhood is modest, build a modest house. Here's another thing, people will see the new house, and feel it's good for the neighborhood causing a domino effect, because you know people, they always want to compete with one another, so youll see others doing the same.
Go new, and good luck.

p.s. keep nosy people away and out of your plans, don't let people in on too much, bye

It depends on how handy you are and how much time you are willing to put into the project. Make sure that the house only needs cosmetic repairs. Otherwise you could be buying a money pit. Get an inspection from a professional home inspector.

Buy the new one. I bought one built in 1930 last year and it sucked up so much time, effort, and money......made me wonder if it was worthwhile at all. You dont need the aggravation.