In the midst of this so-called "real estate downturn" and "mortgage implosion" there is another rapidly growing trend that is quietly unfolding all around the country! Quite honestly, this is not being covered on the nightly evening news and you will probably never see this on CNN or MSNBC but it is nonetheless a growing trend that requires your attention!

If you take an evening drive around the inner city or to the outskirts of town nearly anywhere in the country you will see people building their Dream Home! From single story ranch homes on several acres to large 7,000 square foot mini-mansions on waterfront property, there are more people than ever before making the wise decision to build their Dream Home.

Despite the credit crunch, depressed home values and the sub-prime mortgage debacle the custom home sector of the real estate market has bucked this down-ward trend and grown steadily! This growth has been fueled by several factors including the historically low interest rates, lower commodity and construction material prices and the abundance of contractors and tradesmen. For the first time in several years there has been a slowdown in construction which has left many trades and contractors looking for work.

Construction materials have not been this low in nearly 7 years and 2008 is the first year in several years where the large builders have begun canceling and halting construction in their tract home communities.

This cocktail of events has created a perfect storm for Owner Builders looking to build their Dream Home. I am seeing the ability to negotiate better than normal pricing with trade contractors and many builders are looking for more work and are offering better terms than normal to book more work and keep their crews busy during this period.

Add to this that the average Owner Builder generally saves anywhere from 22 to 30% or more on the total construction costs of their home and you begin to get a picture of how beneficial building your own Custom Dream Home can be. Where I live the average custom home costs around $475,000, so a 22% savings nets you $104,500! That is a tremendous amount of money to save on a home that has been designed and constructed with your every desire, needs and wants in mind! With these kind of savings being realized, you can easily see why so many people are electing to build their Custom Dream Home!

An added incentive for building in this present environment is that the above figures do not factor in the potential cost savings on materials and labor from the trade contractors as well as the potential price and terms concessions that you could get from the land owners whom you will be purchasing the land from. Land developers are offering tremendous incentives and terms to secure more contracts; many are offering owner-financing and up to 2 years with no payments!

Another incentive for building your Custom Dream Home now is the present spike in energy prices! Most homes built before 2000 have several design flaws and deficiencies that contribute to higher than average heating and cooling costs, which have increased the overall cost of ownership for many families.

Using current technological innovations that have come on the market in the last 3-5 years, you could literally cut your energy costs by as much as 75% with a properly designed energy efficient home. A good friend of mine who purchased a tract home back in 2000 had cooling bills during the summer as high as $600 a month on a 2 story home that was 2,800 sq. ft. Using radiant barrier, dual paned windows, proper a/c system design and a tankless water heater he could literally slash those energy bills in half at a minimum! I predict that going forward energy efficiency and heating/cooling costs will move to the forefront of most homeowners buying decisions concerning their home.

When you consider the low interest rates, reduced prices on labor and construction materials and a true buyer's market for real estate in general I think you too will agree that now is the best time in recent history to build a Custom Dream Home!