An uptick in new home sales and construction means you'll pay more for a buildable lot in the Twin Cities. Ryan Jones at the Twin Cities office of Metrostudy, a national construction research firm, said that with the inventory of new houses up 20 percent, lot supplies are dwindling.
During the third quarter there were about 25,000 vacant developed lots throughout the 7-county metro - that's a 14 percent decline compared with last year and the lowest number since early 2007.
Jones warns that with options dwindling, buyers will pay more. "As the market continutes to improve we will see lot prices start to inch up along with increased raw land transcations," said Jones.
The very latest construction stats from Metrostudy's third quarter survey:
- Housing starts: 1,446, a 23 percent increase from the second quarter and a 54 percent increase from last year.
- Housing inventory: 2,292, up 20 percent from the second quarter.
- Supply: 7.1 months (equilibrium= 6 to 7 months)
