I have had new homes and older homes.
Much prefer the new home.
I agree that sometimes it is hard to find a great new home in a terrific area…but we did.

Although the older home was cheaper…we did not have an HOA, etc..
But…frankly I was sick of fixing things/remodeling in our older home…and I did not like that our neighbors had boats, cars, all over the street and the barking dogs! I love having an HOA!