Feb. 5, 2021

Sioux Falls ended the first month of the new year with even less inventory than the tightest months of 2020.

There was a 1.5-month supply of homes on the market, down 58 percent from the previous January, according the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire Inc.

There were 245 houses listed for sale for the month, down 27 percent year over year.

And there were 154 houses sold, down 4 percent.

The average price of a home sold was $277,000, up 15 percent.

“January started off strong for the housing market with healthy buyer demand and strong market fundamentals,” the report said.

“A robust increase in housing starts in December points to an active year for new construction, but higher material costs, especially lumber, and a limited supply of buildable lots will temper the number of new units.”

The average house sold in Sioux Falls in January spent 81 days on the market, which is about two weeks less than one year ago.

For the 12-month period spanning February 2020 through January 2021, pending sales in the Sioux Falls region were up 21 percent overall. The price range with the largest gain in sales was $600,000 to $700,000, with a 69 percent increase.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s January research estimates 2.7 million homeowners with mortgages are currently in forbearance plans.

Some of these homes eventually may come on the market, but given the strong appreciation in most market segments in recent years, these eventual home sales are likely to be mostly traditional sellers, the report said. “However, a modest increase in short sales and foreclosures at some point this year would not be surprising.”