New home permits issued in the six-county Greater Fort Wayne region are off 15 percent for the first quarter of the year, compared with the same quarter in 2017.
The 278 permits issued in Allen, Adams, DeKalb, Huntington, Wells and Whitley counties are also down from the total of 291 two years ago, in the first quarter of 2016, according to data from the Home Builders Association of Fort Wayne.
The average sale price of a new home built in Allen County in the first quarter rose, however, to $266,601 from $259,813 last year, an increase of 3 percent, the HBA said.
The drop in housing starts is being felt nationwide.
“In March, while the total number of starts grew to 1.32 million, we saw single-family housing starts slip to 867,000, behind where we should be,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist for realtor.com. “Last month’s single-family starts are less than half of what we saw during the peak in early 2006 and roughly 30 percent below normal.”
As single-family starts lag, for-sale inventory remains limited. Realtor.com March data shows inventory is 8 percent lower and prices are 8 percent higher than last year.
Sales of existing homes in northeast Indiana were also down in the first quarter, according to the monthly report from the Upstate Alliance of Realtors.
A total of 1,478 homes were sold, according to the UPSTAR Multiple Listing Service, a decrease of 4.5 percent from the 1,547 homes sold in the same period in 2017.
“Some markets have had increases in signed contracts, but the vast majority of the nation continues to experience fewer closed sales and lower inventory compared to last year at this time. Despite there being fewer homes for sale, buyer demand has remained strong enough to keep prices on the rise, which should continue for the foreseeable future,” UPSTAR reported.
The median sale price of a home sold in the first quarter of this year was $134,000, up 7.3 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Inventories continued to tighten, with the number of new listings down 19.3 percent in March from a year ago, and the month’s supply of inventory down 23.8 percent.
As spring arrives – or this year, if it arrives – buyer interest in homes tends to increase. The HBA’s annual spring town and country scattered site home tour is scheduled for the weekends of April 28-29 and May 5-6. This year’s show will feature 34 homes, 13 villas and two home building sites, as well as the participation of 29 in-home vendors.