In the Olympia area, like many others, new construction projects were few and far between after the real estate market took a nose dive. And builders spent a while just regrouping, studying the market forecasts, investigating the availability of financing for their projects.....and generally being understandably cautious.
But it's pretty clear to me that builder confidence is alive and well again in the Olympia area in 2012. And new homes are being built in many Olympia area locations this year - and selling.
I looked today to see how many currently active MLS listings in the Olympia area have 2012 as year built - and was actually surprised to find even more than I expected. (Though probably shouldn't be surprised as pretty much every time I am out and about, my routes take me past various new construction projects.)
The Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater currently active listings built (or in process) this year total a whopping 209. One notable detail about those new construction homes is that the greatest proportion are being built in the "affordable" price bracket where the most buyer activity is happening.
Median asking price for the active new construction listings is $269,950. There are 12 that are priced below $200,000 - a very hot price point for buyers. There are also high end homes being built, with 19 listed above $400,000.
Coinciding with the move toward building more homes in the more affordable price ranges, it is also clear that average home size has adjusted to smaller numbers as well. The overall average square footage being built is 2205 square feet; with a fairly large grouping that are in the 1100-1700 square foot bracket. The large majority of these new homes are being built in small lot subdivisions, with only a dozen being constructed on acreage parcels.
Since overall inventory of available homes is still on the scarce side in our area, it is great to see new construction alive and well again in the Olympia area in 2012!
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