By Natalia Siniavskaia
Copyright, © 2016 National Association of Home Builders
Single-family lot prices set a new record in 2015, with half of the lots priced at or above $45,000. According to NAHB’s analysis of the Census Bureau’s Survey of Construction (SOC) data, this is the highest median lot value on record and exceeds the previous record of $43,000 reached in 2006, in the midst of the housing boom when twice as many single-family homes were started.
Given that nation’s lots are getting smaller and home production is still significantly below the historically normal levels, it might seem surprising that lots are becoming more expensive. However, the rising lot values are consistent with record lot shortages that NAHB reported in May of this year.
The rising lot values are most pronounced in the West South Central and Middle Atlantic divisions where lot values established historical records in 2015. In the West South Central division (that includes Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana), lot values had traditionally been below the national median but reached the $45,000 mark and caught up with the national median in 2015. This represents a significant jump in the division lot values since the housing boom years when more than half of lots were priced under $30,000. Read the entire article at the NAHB website