As mid November arrives and FEDs ponder a December interest hike, lets look at how the new construction market fared through 2015's 3rd Quarter.
In this 3Q review, we'll look at the following charts:
- Lot Sales Comparison (3Q 2014-2015)
- Lot Sales by Area and Median Price
- Top Lot Sales Buyer & Sellers
- New Construction by Area
- Top Snohomish County Builders
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Lot Sales Comparison for 3Q 2014-2015
Comparison by Units
This time last year, Snohomish County seen nearly 3 times as many building lots sold; the County recorded 67 lot sales compared to 209 in 2014's 3rd quarter. King and Pierce Counties also showed declines yet Thurston and Kitsap recorded increases with Thurston's being significant.
Comparison by Volume
Snohomish County's decline in units coincides with the reduction in sales volume with 3Q 2014 being over $18m compared to this year's $9m.
Thurston County is notable since its lot sales nearly doubled (previous chart) and the sales volume remained virtually unchanged.
Average Lot Size & Median Price
The average lot size within the County eludes to the style of homes being built. Building trends definitely point to minimum set back construction styles where as larger lots can still be found in rural areas.
Even though Edmonds, Everett, and Snohomish lots are a lot smaller, being 5,600 sq.ft. and under, the price per lot is dramatically more. Not surprising since those areas have higher demand due to location.
Lot Sales by City
Even though rural areas seen more lot sales, its not all that significant.
- Snohomish: 22
- Sultan: 15
- Edmonds: 13
- Arlington: 12
- Everett: 5
Top 10 Lot Sale Buyers
RM Homes purchased 20 more lots than the next closest buyer, Mietzner Homes and according to their website, RM Homes has 3 communities (Shadowood in Snohomish, Greenstone in Bothell, and Logan Crest in Lynnwood) listed as "Now Selling" with 4 other communities listed as "Coming Soon" in southern Snohomish County.
Other notable buyers are Best Harbour Dev., Cornerstone Homes, and Brandel Custom.
Top 10 Lot Sale Sellers
Shadowood 82 LLC has the most sales at 22 and followed by Ardsley Homes with 13, Novel Homes with 10, Sultan 144 with 8, Van Wyngarden with 7, Cascade View with 5, and both Sundberg Homes and James Spane with 1 lot sold.
New Construction by Median Price & Area
Not surprising, the most desirable Snohomish County zip codes boasted the highest median new construction prices.
- Edmonds: $679,583
- Mukilteo: $585,940
- Bothell: $551,759
Respectively, in the $400s are:
- Lynnwood: $491,589
- Snohomish: $480,440
- Arlington: $462,955
- Mill Creek: $418,284
- Monroe: $409,551
The $200s - $300s are comprised of:
- Lake Stevens: $376,622
- Everett: $353,571
- Marysville: $344,595
- Sultan: $245,108
New Construction Unit Sales by Area
Bothell out paced every other city in new construction home sales with 136 units and the next closest city being Lynnwood. Lake Stevens and Mill Creek had respectable sales figures being they're smaller real estate markets.
- Bothell: 136
- Lynnwood: 55
- Lake Stevens: 40
- Mill Creek: 26
- Sultan: 18
- Marysville: 13
- Everett: 9
- Snohomish: 9
- Monroe: 8
- Edmonds: 6
- Mukilteo: 3
- Arlington: 1
Top 10 New Construction Builders
There are many familiar names in Snohomish County's Top 10 builder list with DR Horton taking top honors with 72 units which nearly doubles Cornerstone's quarterly sales. However, DR Horton seems content on building out existing lot inventory versus picking up additional lots - see the Top 10 Lot Buyers chart.
- DR Horton: 72
- Cornerstone: 37
- Lennar NW: 30
- Quadrant: 19
- Polygon: 18
- Sundquist: 18
- Seattle Pacific: 16
- MainVue homes: 15
- Kenridge Park: 14
- RM Homes: 10
Questions as Year End Approaches
- Will the 4Q show an increase in lot sales and new construction from 3Q or will purchasing halt?
- Will new construction continue to try and fill the void of low resale inventory?
- What is builder confidence for 2016?
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