Dec. 9, 2019

Sioux Falls homes took a little longer to sell in November as both new listings and closed sales dropped.

There were 248 closed sales in the city, down 8.1 percent from the same time last year, according to the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire. New listings dropped 5.2 percent.

The average sales price was $254,479, up 9.7 percent from last November.

The average house spent 80 days on the market until selling, which is two more days than a year  ago.

“While many economic signs are quite strong, total household debt has been rising for 21 consecutive quarters and is now $1.3 trillion higher than the previous peak of $12.68 trillion in 2008,” according to an analysis included with the report.

“While delinquency rates remain low across most debt types (including mortgages), higher consumer debt loads can limit future household spending capability and increase risk if the economy slows down.”

In November, the Federal Reserve reduced its benchmark rate for the third time this year, an action the report said “was widely anticipated by the market.” Mortgage rates have remained steady this month and are still down more than 1 percentage point from last year.

Sioux Falls ended the month with 901 homes for sale, a decrease of 11 percent from the same time last year, and a 3.2-month supply of homes on the market, down 8.3 percent.

According to the U.S. Commerce Department, new housing permits rose 5 percent in October to a 12-year high of 1.46 million units.

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist with the National Association of Realtors, the latest figures are “tremendously good news for the housing sector.” While increasing new construction activity is helpful, it is widely believed that construction activity is still below what is needed to provide adequate housing supply, the report said.

Building permits for single-family houses in Sioux Falls are tracking behind 2018, with permits for 602 houses issued through November — 54 fewer than a year ago.