With home prices and construction costs both at high levels, it can be hard to determine whether buying an existing home or building a new one is the most cost-effective option. While it's usually cheaper to buy a home than build one from scratch, in some states -- especially in places where demand for homes greatly outweighs the supply -- the opposite is true.

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StorageCafe analyzed the costs associated with both buying and building a home in each U.S. state and found the 18 states where it's currently cheaper to build. Many of these states are concentrated in the West and South Atlantic, and in one state, it's now nearly $500,000 cheaper to build than buy.

See the states where new construction is the cheaper route to home ownership.

18. New York

• Total building costs: $524,000

• Median single-family home listing price: $535,000

• Difference in building vs. buying costs: -$11,000

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17. Tennessee

16. Georgia

15. North Carolina

14. Oregon

13. Texas

12. Massachusetts

11. Washington

10. Idaho

9. Florida

8. Montana

7. Maryland

6. Delaware

5. Virginia

4. Utah

3. Colorado

2. California

1. Hawaii

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 18 States Where It’s Cheaper To Build Than Buy a Home