One thing that worries me is the ground compaction problem Many newly graded lands in hilly areas like SD take a few years to settle. Since the new homes are built before that, you may end up having large settlements & cracks (mini version of La Jolla problem). If you buy after 5 years or so, the settlements have mostly finished and you can see if there is any damage.
Second issue is: in the recent run up, last 5 years or so, a lot of builders used illegal and unskilled labor both for profit and due to worker shortages. I have seen videos of building construction (including some larger buildings) on TV that shocked me – poor skills even in estimating & measuring steel and wood – they would order beams & columns too long or short and then fix in the field by cutting or joining/welding. I don't have any construction experience, but their stupidity was too obvious! They just couldn't read a drawing properly and get the right materials. I would be very concerned about buying anything built in the last 5 years or so.
