I've had both....& while each had its' good points, in the new ones I so missed the character of my older home. Plus the fact that you can experiment......(sometimes ANYTHING you do is an improvement)

New builds can be even bigger money pits. Most are so cheaply constructed--definitely not built to last. We might not have been able to get our box spring up our 100-year-old staircase (we ended up buying one that comes in two pieces) but this house is solid, beautiful, and has features a new home wouldn't dream of (i.e. a butler's pantry). Who wants to clean three or four oversized bathrooms anyway?

I currently live in a 130 year old house and I have to say, there is a point where a house can be "too old". I'm sick of dealing random electrical work, leaky foundation, crumbling brick, and the mice that always find a way in. While I wouldn't necessarily want brand new, my next place will definitely be newer than my current one!

Have lived in both...and am happy somewhere in the middle.  Our home is 25 yrs. old and very well built.  I have lived in a much newer home and didn't find it very well put together and an older home is a pain to renovate unless you have lots of money for those unexpected things!   I am happy with our very sound brick 25 yr. old bungalow and I feel that the upgrades that we have done have been very worth while.  

I prefer an older home with character.  Also love gardening but can't seem to find any gardening shows on HGTV.

We had a 1950 bungalow that we fixed up and it was really nice and had a lot of character, but eventually it was too small for a growing family (two bed, one bath) and it had too many problems (bad wiring, no insulation in the walls, bad plumbing, etc...).  We loved the nieghbourhood so we removed the house and built new.  Construction of the house was a nightmare, but now we're happier, aside from a few very minor design details that we never could have envisioned until it was built and lived in.  

Older homes can be money pits indeed, however they do have charm. IF I were to have a new home I'm afraid it wud have to built to my specs which wud include a lot of architectural detail reminiscent of an  grand dame but at the same time, have  the luxuries of today.

I used to live in an old home but we had to move into a small apartment. The old place was often cold and wet. The new place has a jungle gym outside where children can play. I think I'll stay here as long as I can.

We've been out looking at houses in our area, and aren't impressed by new builds.  Its like they say, they don't build them like they used to.  Now, if Mike Holmes would build my house, that's a different story.  Can he build us an Eichler style house?

Lived in both, bought a house from new construction 5 years later had to change all my windows and new showers, moved in my boyfriend 30 year old bungalow, changed windows upstairs and new front door, this year we are doing the bathrooms and that is only because they need updating my kitchen was tottaly redone by Justin and Colin other than that everything is still in good shape, so to me older was better than new.

We're looking for our first home, and we'd prefer to avoid the pitfalls of older homes and new, cookie-cutter homes too. Ideally, we'd like to design our own and build from scratch with a trustworthy contractor. The only problem is we don't know whether this option is possible anywhere in the GTA, or whether it would save us more money in the long run.

Marie, it's definitely possible to build from scratch in the GTA.  There are many great boutique residential firms, usually headed by people who REALLY love what they do (see my latest "House Tour" post entitled "You too can live like THIS", here on Stylesheet.  The architect I speak of does this very thing and is very budget conscious.)  As such, they're just happy to be building something exciting and are more than happy to get you to your budget, if only to keep you as a client.  Usually, it's safe to say that custom new-builds run you approx. $200-300 a square foot.  That's not including the furniture, but should include fixtures and finishes.  Good luck!  

Have had older home and new would love the new but so many problems getting builders to fix issues and absolutly no help from Ontario new home warranty because they know nothing about building in rural areas and building codes outside of Toronto area. Which ended up a very costly issue for us as a home owner.

I have done both and not just once.  When my husband and I were first married we built our first home a small bungalow.  We loved it.  We moved into a older home and loved the charm of it but it was much too big for us.  We decided to get what we really wanted we would have to build.  Not a cookie cutter either.  We designed a home that was just what we wanted with charm and style.  We used local reliable and reputable trades persons and we oversaw the whole project. When our home is completed it will be hard to put a year on the house.  It is a classic timeless design that someone may think was built in the early 1900s but not quite sure maybe the 40s 50s or could it be new.  I will not say that we had no problems along the way but we are in it now and I love it.  

We've tried looking at older homes...something about someone else's dirt just makes me gag.  I can't do it.  After we got married we lived in an apartment for a year and no matter how much I scrubbed it clean, it never felt right.  (and no, I'm not a clean freak)

Although the old(er) homes have a lot more character, there is something wonderful about soaking in a big oval bathtub that nobody else has ever been in! There are so many creative ways to make a new house have character, that you can build new and have the best of both worlds.

have a 60's home, with decor to match,downstairs a disaster, upstairs much improved with knocking out a wall and paint. To fix downstairs would be costly as stairs are more like a ladder and would take major reconstruct to fix. Love the mature landscape and the upstairs has character.