Construction Inventory on Track for 2018
As we move farther into 2018, new construction inventory is up from last year, and interest rates have edged up half a percent.
January closed sales were down 37.9% from December and down 15.3% from January 2017. However, January pended sales were up 18% from the previous month and up 10.8% from January 2017.
There were 1,398 new construction homes for sale in January, which is up 2.7% from December and up 15.9% from last year.
The average sale price of a new construction home in January was $335,000, which is down $15,000 from last year at this time. The average price per square foot for the month of January was $192, compared to $201 per square foot last year at this time.
The new construction market had 1,089 single-family homes for sale in the month of January, compared to 953 homes at this time last year. That’s an increase of 14.3% and works out to 13 months of inventory based on closed sales and 8.3 months of inventory based on pended sales.
For single-family homes, the average price in January was $347,000, which is down $16,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of January was $194, compared to $203 per square foot last year at this time.
In the multi-family new construction market, 301 units were for sale in the month of January, compared to 242 homes in January of 2017. That’s an increase of 24.4% and works out to 14.3 months of inventory based on closed sales and 9.4 months of inventory based on pended sales.
The average sale price of a new construction multi-family unit was $283,000 in January, which is up $22,000 from last year. The average price per square foot for the month of January was $182, compared to $179 per square foot last year at this time.
The top new construction metro markets for single-family homes are: Ankeny, Waukee, Grimes, Urbandale and Bondurant.
The top new construction metro markets for multi-family homes are: Norwalk, Ankeny, West Des Moines, Johnston and Bondurant.
As interest rates are adjusting in response to the economic, it would be prudent for builders to be strategic going forward when targeting price ranges for their preferred market segments.