Fargo, ND, MN Get this data
in your Inbox

You have successfully subscribed to the local housing data e-newsletter for .

If you wish to receive monthly updates for other market areas please subscribe to new markets using our expanded form.

Fargo, ND - Freshest Figures for New Home Sales Rise Year-Over-Year in February After Decline Year-Over-Year in January

Posted on: May 07, 2012 09:10:15 AM

The Fargo, ND market saw an increase in sales of new homes in February year-over-year, rebounding from a year-over-year decline in January 2012. There was a 15.0% jump in new home sales from a year earlier. In comparison, new home sales in the same month last year saw a 6.5% decline year-over-year in January.

A total of 431 new homes were sold during the 12 months that ended in February, up from 428 for the year that ended in January.

As a percentage of overall housing sales, new home sales accounted for 10.0%, down from the 11.8% of sales a year earlier. Following a year-over-year increase in January, sales of new and existing homes also climbed year-over-year in February.

Pricing and Mortgage Trends

In February, the average value of new homes saw a 23.3% gain year-over-year as it grew to $253,766 per unit. This lift is better than the 4.4% rise in January year-over-year.

Average mortgage size on new homes grew year-over-year along with new home prices. In February 2012, there was a 15.8% rise in the average mortgage size, reaching $206,999. Average mortgage size went from $192,348 in January 2011 to $192,953 in January 2012. Of the overall sale price, the percentage that was being financed fell 5.3 percentage points year-over-year to 81.6% in February 2012.

Other Market Trends

There has been little change in the composition of the market with regard to the types of properties sold. From a year ago, single-family home sales have moved from 95.0% of new home sales to 95.7% of sales while attached units have gone from 5.0% of sales to 4.3% of sales.

There was a 2.4% rise year-over-year in the average unit size of newly sold homes to 1,489 square feet in February 2012. In January, the average size of new homes sold went from 1,671 square feet a year earlier to 1,662 square feet.

Foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) sales remained a drag on the market. Out of all existing home sales, foreclosures combined with REO sales accounted for 29.5% of sales. They made up 22.8% in February 2011. The percentage of existing home sales involving foreclosures rose to 19.8% in February from 10.7% a year earlier while REO sales as a percentage of existing home sales slipped to 9.7% from 12.1% a year earlier.

Please refer to the ABOUT THIS MSA tab to learn more about geographic coverage and data availability in this market area.