Fall Brings Market Slowdown

As we move into fall and closer toward the end of the year, the market is slowing down. Through the end of September the New Homes Market is up 4.7% in closed units and .05% in Dollar Volume from last year.

September closed sales were down 18.5% from August and down 16.5% from September 2017. September pended sales were down 32.7% from the previous month and down 11.7% from September 2017.

There were 1,427 new construction homes for sale in September, which is up 1.4% from August and up 13.6% from last year.

The average sale price of a new construction home in September was $326,000, which is down $21,000 from last year at this time. The average price per square foot for the month of September was $192, which is down $5 from last year at this time.

The new construction market had 1,104 single-family homes for sale in the month of September, compared to 981 homes at this time last year. That’s an increase of 12.5% and works out to 8.3 months of inventory based on closed sales and 11.3 months of inventory based on pended sales.

For single-family homes, the average price in September was $340,000, which is down $13,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of September was $196, compared to $198 per square foot last year at this time.

In the multi-family new construction market, 312 units were for sale in the month of September, compared to 267 homes in September of 2017. That’s an increase of 16.9% and works out to 8 months of inventory based on closed sales and 20.8 months of inventory based on pended sales.

The average sale price of a new construction multi-family unit was $276,000 in September, which is up $2,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of September was $178, compared to $173 per square foot last year at this time.

The top new construction metro markets for single-family homes are: Ankeny, Waukee, Urbandale, Grimes and Norwalk.

The top new construction metro markets for multi-family homes are: Ankeny, Waukee, West Des Moines, Norwalk and Indianola.

Interest rates have continued to rise this year and currently sit at around 4.95% APR. All indicators lead us to believe that we will continue to see periodic increases for the remainder of this year and into next year as well. Payments and affordability will need to be taken into account as builders plan their spring starts.

For more information on New Construction Market data, feel free to contact me!