New Construction Price Premium Hits All-Time Low

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. - EntSun -- Reprinted with permission Florida Realtors. All rights reserved.
AUGUST 7, 2025

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New Construction Price Premium Hits All-Time Low

Newly built homes are more plentiful nationwide and a better value on a per-square foot basis, particularly in the South, Realtor.com said.

AUSTIN, Texas — New construction is becoming a more affordable, and increasingly attractive, option for today's buyers as the price premium over existing homes hit a record low of 7.8% in Q2 2025. According to the latest Realtor.com New Construction Quarterly Report, newly built homes are not only more plentiful than they've been in recent years but also may offer better value on a per-square-foot basis than existing homes, especially in the South where supply is rebounding fastest.

"In a market still grappling with a shortage of nearly 4 million homes, affordable new construction plays a critical role in restoring balance. Even with recent slowdowns in starts and permits, builders continue to deliver new homes to the market at a healthy pace," said Realtor.com Chief Economist Danielle Hale. "In many areas, these homes are not only available, they also offer better value compared to existing home inventories. We're even seeing new home price declines in some of the most active pandemic-era hot spots, signaling a shift toward greater affordability in markets that were previously out of reach for many."

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New construction premium hits all-time low

In Q2 2025, the price premium for new construction compared to existing homes dropped to a record low of 7.8%, as builders held pricing steady and existing home prices continued to rise. The median list price for a newly built home was $450,797 in Q2, essentially flat from a year ago, while the median existing home prices rose 2.4% to $418,300. New homes also tend to be larger, offering better value per square foot. Nationally, new builds averaged $218.66 per square foot, compared to $226.56 for existing homes.

The affordability edge is strongest in the South and West, where new homes make up a greater share of for-sale listings. While three U.S. regions saw a shrinking price premium, the West, which offers relatively lower new construction prices compared to the other regions, was the only region where the new-home premium rose year over year – a reflection of strengthening new home prices and an influx of lower-priced existing homes.

Prices fall in 30 metros, with sharpest drops in the South

Locally, new build list prices declined in 30 of the 100 largest metros, with the steepest declines in the South, where inventory is high and demand has cooled. The top five markets seeing the biggest drops in new construction list prices are Little Rock, Ark. (-15.6%); Austin, Texas (-8.5%); Wichita, Kan. (-7.9%); Jacksonville, Fla. (-7.8%); and Cape Coral, Fla. (-7.4%). These price drops are from a combination of factors: builder efforts to offer more affordable options, rising competition from existing homes, and weaker buyer demand from high mortgage rates and low buyer confidence.

South leads in new home inventory

The South continues to lead the nation in housing supply, accounting for more than 50% of both new and existing home listings – outpacing its 39.4% share of U.S. households. It's also the only region where its share of new builds exceeds its share of existing homes for sale, thanks to high levels of builder activity. In contrast, the Northeast remains the most inventory-constrained region, with a significant shortage of both existing and new construction homes for its 17.1% share of U.S. households.

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In the Midwest and Northeast, tighter inventories and high demand have pushed new build prices well above existing homes, more than 50% higher in many cases, making new construction largely a premium product in those regions.

Builder activity softens amid tariff and demand concerns, completions stay strong

While builder activity has softened amid tariff concerns and the threats of lower demand and higher material costs, completions have continued to hit the market at a steady rate since the pandemic, as builders stepped in to meet elevated housing demand. Since Q1 2020, new construction listings have grown 37.3%, compared to a 15.4% increase for existing homes, most of which occurred in the past quarter. That influx of existing home listings has diluted the overall share of new homes for sale on the market, now down to 16.4% in Q2, from its quarterly high of 20.2% in 2023 Q2, and 17.9% a year ago.

Who's shopping for new builds, and where?

Realtor.com cross-market demand data shows differences in buyer shopping behavior for new builds across markets. In major metros like Los Angeles, New York and Miami, demand is largely driven by out-of-town buyers. In contrast, middle-tier cities such as Tucson, Ariz.; Toledo, Ohio; and Bakersfield, Calif., see the majority of new construction interest coming from local shoppers.

Meanwhile, new home shoppers in construction rich areas, like Durham, N.C.; Atlanta, and Salt Lake City are more likely to seek out new construction even when searching outside their own metro area. This suggests that once consumers see or experience the benefits of new builds in their local market, they actively look for similar options elsewhere.

Methodology: Realtor.com housing data as of June 2025. Listings include the active inventory of newly built single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com. Realtor.com data history goes back to July 2016. Cross market data includes all views of listing detail pages on Realtor.com during the second quarter of 2025.

Source: Realtor.com

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