Report: I.E. new-home market shifts toward more affordability
Metrostudy, a national housing data and consulting firm with a division in Riverside, found that new housing starts in the region have shifted to a more affordable price range. The highest volume of starts is in the $250,000 to $325,000 price range, the report found. Previously, the $325,000 to $424,000 price range dominated housing starts. The company conducts a count of 100 percent of all new housing units in subdivisions within the market area each quarter. The company uses finished vacant inventory as a key indicator of the health of housing inventory within markets. Representing 39 percent of total Inland Empire inventory, finished vacant housing decreased to 2,098 units, a decline of 7 percent since the second quarter of 2009 and a 41 percent decline since the third quarter of 2008, according to the report. Typically, finished vacant inventory in Southern California markets comprises 18 percent of total inventory during normal market conditions. Closings exceeded starts in the third quarter, according to Metrostudy. New housing starts totaled 1,350, a 3 percent decline from the second quarter and a 9 percent decline from the third quarter of 2008. Meanwhile, closings were up from the previous quarter 14 percent, to 1,975.
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