The US Census has lots of interesting information on what is trending in new construction. It’s fun to compare what buyers expect today versus what your grandparents lived in when they were young.
But the price difference across the country is greater than I expected. Building in the NE costs a little less than twice as much as in the South and the Midwest.
According to the Characteristics of New Housing, 666,000 single-family houses built and sold in the United States in 2023. The median price (half cost less, half more) was $428,600 and the median size was 2,286 square feet with a median price per square foot of $154.70.
What new home buyers got for their money varied by region. The median price and square footage of new single-family homes sold in 2023 in the:
- Northeast: $760,700, 2,430 square feet.
- Midwest: $396,300, 2,172 square feet.
- South: $388,800, 2,335 square feet.
- West: $536,200, 2,170 square feet.
Granted, this information is a few years old, but the differences will persist. Given that the inputs are land and labor, it is safe to assume the build out in the NE pushes lot prices higher. And construction trades must command a premium wage.
