New Housing Starts Through December Burlington Area* Burlington West Burlington Cedar Rapids Area Cedar Rapids Marion Rural Linn County Hiawatha & Mechanicsville Areas Dubuque Area Dubuque East Dubuque Galena Jo Daviess County Peosta Surrounding Dubuque Area Illinois Quad Cities Moline & Coal Valley Rock Island East Moline & Hampton Colona Port Byron Geneseo Rural Rock Island County & Milan Silvis Whiteside County Iowa Quad Cities Davenport Bettendorf Rural Scott County Eldridge & Long Grove LeClaire & Princeton Blue Grass - city of Iowa City Area Iowa City Coralville North Liberty Rural Johnson County West Branch Williamsburg, Wellman & Kalona West Liberty Muscatine Area Muscatine Muscatine County Wilton Other Areas Clinton DeWitt Maquoketa, Preston & Bellevue Washington Area* Total Regional Starts Des Moines Area**
2010 2008
2011
2012
2013
N/A N/A N/A 608 358 161 72 17 330 87 1 2 32 16 192 132 18 5 6 7 5 4 48 5 34 372 108 119 62 36 36 11 296 110 34 84 40 13 15 0 28 11 16 1 39 23 15 1 N/A 1,805
8 7 1 509 290 138 62 19 319 114 1 1 30 11 162 120 23 4 8 8 4 7 29 13 24 334 95 131 40 40 19 9 355 89 55 164 34 1 8 4 25 10 13 2 28 15 7 6 N/A 1,698
18 17 1 489 251 164 58 16 363 139 2 0 43 8 171 125 18 25 5 9 1 9 25 2 31 498 128 145 93 41 83 8 472 146 63 171 65 9 18 0 32 14 16 2 37 7 9 16 5 2,034
36 32 4 514 228 188 72 26 358 107 2 1 37 19 192 134 14 12 7 24 2 2 34 8 31 711 114 169 199 51 174 4 411 174 52 93 70 8 13 1 33 4 26 3 30 4 6 15 5 2,227
N/A
716
1,872
2,367
% Change 2012 vs. 2013 +100% +88% +300% +5% -9% +15% +24% +63% -1% -23% 0% +100% -14% +138% +12% +7% -22% -52% +40% +167% +100% -78% +36% +300% 0% +43% -11% +17% +114% +24% +110% -50% -13% +19% -17% -46% +8% -11% -28% +100% +3% -71% +63% +50% -19% -43% -33% -6% 0% +9% +26%
Source: Municipal offices. There may be additional new homes built which are not included with this data. *Burlington Area, Des Moines Area and Washington Area were recently added and little or no past data is available. **Des Moines Area is comprised of Adel, Altoona, Ankeny, Clive, Des Moines, Indianola, Johnston, Pleasant Hill, Polk City, Urbandale, Waukee, & West Des Moines.
New Home Sales Down After Slow 4th Quarter New home sales across the region, as reported in the Multiple Listing Service, fell by 2% in 2013 when compared to the previous year. A chilly 4th quarter saw sales drop nearly 16% from 2012, erasing modest sales increases through the 3rd quarter. Overall inventory levels continued a slow recovery and stood at 5% more units than at the end of 2012. For local details, see the chart on page 6. For 2013 the price breakdown for new house and condo purchases is as follows: Houses: Condos: Below $300K = 52% Below $200K = 70% $300-400K = 29% $200-300K = 24% Above $400K = 19% Above $300K = 6% House purchases increased 3% in 2013, accounting for 66% of sales versus 34% for condos, continuing a trend toward preference for houses that began in 2010. New condo sales dropped nearly 12% from 2012. Among house buyers - ranches accounted for 78% of sales, while 2 story homes made up only 15% of all sales, of those 57% were in Scott County, Iowa. New home purchases across the region represented about 1 in every 11 homes sold. Local markets vary widely, with the Iowa City market selling 1 new home for every 4.4 existing homes and Dubuque selling 1 new home for every 15.7 existing homes. Low new housing inventory still plays a key role in holding down sales. New housing starts are detailed on the chart to the left. Following is a brief summary of 2013 activity in each of the major market areas: CEDAR RAPIDS: House sales were up 5%, while condos fell 7%, leaving total sales virtually unchanged, despite an increase in inventory of 18%. New house sales above $400K increased by 155%. DUBUQUE: After an upward spike in 2012, this market saw a 31% decrease in overall sales, although sales of new houses $300-400K were up 25%. New condo sales were weak, but look to rebound in 2014, based on some new affordable product. Overall inventory dropped about 21% versus the end of 2012. IOWA CITY: The regional sales leader saw an increase of 9% in house sales and a decrease of 8% in condo sales, equating to a 1% increase in unit sales for 2013. Inventory levels are unchanged from a year ago. Condos still enjoy a 44% market share in the area, but are slowly
New Home Sales continued on page 8 RuhlHomes.com • 7