Builders Sell At a Fast Clip In Top California Markets, Las Vegas, And Phoenix

News provided by

Meyers Research

Oct 30, 2017, 07:00 ET


COSTA MESA, Calif. (PRWEB) October 30, 2017 -- Homebuilders in San Jose, San Francisco, and Los Angeles saw the highest monthly average sales rates by project when analyzing the top new home metros across the country in October. These markets have held the top spot for the past year. Las Vegas and Phoenix, two markets hit hard during the last downturn, round out the top five. Looking at select markets, we see a couple interesting trends:

  • In the San Francisco CBSA, the median new home detached price is currently 7% above the previous peak at roughly $830,000, yet homes keep selling like hotcakes. The median household income in the area is above $90,000 and growing YOY. The income statistic doesn’t account for the stock options and other bonuses some of these potential buyers (many of which are Millennials) receive from their employers, which help fuel demand given the high price prices.
  • The number of mortgage holders that are delinquent on their loans are down considerably over the past few years in Las Vegas. In addition, more owners are regaining equity in their properties (although the CBSA average price is 5% below the previous peak), allowing them to sell and move. Furthermore, a healthy labor market growing at nearly 3% compared to last year help consumers move into homeownership. Some builders in this market are also specifically targeting Millennials with certain products and price points.

The Manager of Housing Economics at Meyers Research, Ali Wolf, explains, “The story is different for each of the best housing markets in the country, but one thing is for sure- there is still plenty of demand for entry-level housing. For homes at the lower end of the price spectrum, we are seeing faster rates of price appreciation and higher than average absorption levels.”

The data is based on the actively selling new home projects in Zonda, Meyers Research’s iPad application that tracks top economic and housing data across the country. Each month, Meyers Research surveys over 16,000 actively selling projects across 407 counties. The pace is calculated by looking at the average sales rate per month since all actively selling communities opened in their respective MSA.

Ali Wolf, Meyers Research, +1 (330) 204-8630, [email protected]