Housing starts, new home sales soaring in St. George market

The St. George area housing industry continues to zoom, according to the Metrostudy fourth quarter 2018 housing survey released recently. The study found that housing starts and new home closings are up significantly but that production is moving toward attached — and therefore more affordable — homes. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}

Eric Allen, regional director in Metrostudy’s Salt Lake City area regional office in West Jordan, conducted the survey. The study includes statistics from Mesquite, Nevada, considered part of the St. George market.

Some of study’s findings include:

• Annual new home starts are up 42 percent over 2017 levels. Starts are up 57 percent for the fourth quarter year-over-year.

• Annual new home closings are up 28 percent year-over-year with quarterly closings up 42 percent from 2017 levels.

• As costs for housing continue to increase, attached homes are becoming much more accepted as homebuyers look for a less-expensive option. The nightly rental market has also been a large contributor to the increase in attached housing.

• While the St. George market has traditionally been known as a more reasonably priced market, affordability is becoming more of an issue, especially for the local working-class home buyers. Currently, only 24 percent of all new home starts are below $300,000, compared to 36 percent in 2017.

“In order for the market to continue growing at a similar pace, builders will need to find ways to deliver more product in the lower-price segments,” said Allen. “However, with increased city regulations, material prices and labor costs, this will be a difficult but necessary task. Currently, the median price for a new detached home in the St. George market is $382,100, which has increased 7 percent from last year and 2 percent above last quarter. The median price for a new attached home/unit increased 32 percent compared to 2017 and is up 6 percent from last quarter to $313,600. The median new home price in Mesquite is currently $293,900, which is up 8 percent from last year and 3 percent above last quarter,” he continued.{/mprestriction}