Compete All Four Quarters If You Want To Win

The New Homes market is currently trailing 2018 YOY numbers by 5.6% in Units and 4.4% in $Vol. Coach Danks always said “You have to compete all four quarters if you want to win”. That’s not only true in football, it’s true in business as well.

Well, we’re starting the 4th quarter on a good note. September pending sales were up 29.8% over the same time last year. Rates are roughly 1.5% better than this time last year. Builders have reduced prices, incentives are being offered and Iowa’s unemployment rate is a mere 2.4%. Conditions are favorable if you are looking to buy a home!

Now let’s take a look at the overall new construction market as we close out the 3rd quarter. September closed sales were down 18.2% from August and down 4.5% from September 2018. September pended sales were down 17.8% from the previous month and up 29.8% from last year at this time.

There were 1,313 new construction homes for sale in September, which is up 2.1% from August and down 8% from last year.

The average sale price of a new construction home in September was $315,000, which is down $17,000 from this time last year. The average price per square foot for September was $197, which is up $4 from last year at this time.

The new construction market had 970 single-family homes for sale in the month of September, compared to 1,104 homes at this time last year. That’s a decrease of 12.1% and works out to 7.3 months of inventory based on closed sales and 7.7 months of inventory based on pended sales.

For single-family homes, the average price in September was $340,000, which is down $4,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of September was $204, compared to $196 per square foot last year at this time.

In the multi-family new construction market, 334 units were for sale in the month of September, compared to 312 homes in September of 2018. That’s a decrease of 7.1% and works out to 8.6 months of inventory based on closed sales and 10.8 months of inventory based on pended sales.

The average sale price of a new construction multi-family unit was $239,000 in September, which is down $14,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of September was $167, compared to $173 per square foot last year at this time.

The top new construction metro markets for single-family homes are: Ankeny, Waukee, West Des Moines, Norwalk, Urbandale & Grimes.
The top new construction metro markets for multi-family homes are: Ankeny, West Des Moines, Waukee, Norwalk, Johnston.