The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)

New home constructi­on is looking up

- Wayne Megill Columnist

Today, in real estate, we are suffering from a massive shortage in inventory. It’s not that there is a shortage of homes, just a shortage of people looking to sell them. This makes that market rough for first time buyers, but not everyone suffers from this — homebuilde­rs are optimistic about the prospect of this market.

West Chester is booming with new constructi­on homes being built on the outskirts, offering the great schools, with some added privacy. This boom is a good sign, and it offers the midlevel buyers a great opportunit­y.

When you look at the market, you’ll notice that there is a lot of high prices. This is the natural reaction to any market when buyers are competing for the same house. Competitio­n drives prices up, and right now prices are up. But that means that all these buyers competing for older homes find themselves in the new constructi­on price range. This is why we’ve seen the homebuilde­r index jump up in the month of May.

The homebuilde­r index just measures the confidence they have in the market and their ability to start new projects. While it’s been strong since March, it just keeps rising and took a 2-point jump for May — not a bad place to be. When builders are confident, new constructi­on buyers can expect to get a good deal.

When times are tough, builders are more likely to fight tooth and nail to make sure to get every penny out of the home they’re looking to sell. However, with the boost in confidence, buyers know that the builders are looking to sell out this project and move onto their next one. That means that the homes are competitiv­ely priced, and they are looking to move the inventory.

Single family new constructi­on accounts for the largest portion of new constructi­on, and they are still on the rise, but ever so slightly. The rest of the new constructi­on market has seen a dip in permits request and granted. This indicates a slow for the building of townhomes and condos. But the neighborho­od is still on the rise.

This looks to be the con-

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