As January unfolds, we shift from crafting resolutions to making them come true. Many aspire to make 2024 the year they purchase a home—if they can find one at a reasonable price.

Buyers frustrated by high home prices and mortgage rates and a painful shortage of homes for sale might want to turn to new construction.

Surprised? Yes, these homes have long been viewed as the province of trade-up and wealthier buyers who can afford the high price tags (generally 25% to 35% more than homes on the resale market). However, newly built homes are offering frustrated homebuyers an invaluable lifeline.

Many builders have been putting up smaller, more affordable homes recently, slashing prices, and offering mortgage rate buy-downs that can temporarily or even permanently lower a buyer’s monthly payment.

Of course, there are plenty more advantages to being the first occupants of a home. New construction allows buyers to customize their homes, and take advantage of warranties on big-ticket items like the roof, plumbing, and appliances. The modern materials that go into these homes’ windows, insulation, and other features can also offer better energy efficiency—which can save homeowners substantial money over time.

For those who are ready to consider a new home, the Realtor.com® data team found the metropolitan areas with the most new residential construction in the pipeline (relative to the number of existing houses) as we head into 2024.

Builders have filed more permits to put up new homes in more affordable coastal cities in the Southeast, such as in Florida and South Carolina. Southern cities with strong economies are also experiencing construction booms as builders try to accommodate the influx of new residents.

“More people are buying spec homes now than I’ve seen ever before,” says Lesley Barton, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Sunstar Realty Global Luxury in Punta Gorda. “It’s so many peoples’ dream.”

The pricier Mountain West is another region where developers are doing what they can to ride the wave of demand that surged in the bigger cities of the rugged Rocky Mountains, along with the sunny capital city of Texas.

Absent from the list are any areas in New England or the Northeast, where older cities have less open space to build on. Only one Midwestern metro made the list, pointing to the softer demand in some of those areas. And there isn’t a single metro from the nation’s Western coastline. Generally, these areas are already densely built up, and prices can be extraordinarily high.

To find the places where builders are constructing more homes, we pulled U.S. Census Bureau housing permit data for the most recent 12 months on record (December 2022 to November 2023). Then we calculated the total new-housing permits from the past year, as a rate per 1,000 existing housing units, for the 200 largest metros in the country. (We selected just one metro per state to ensure geographic diversity.)

Let’s check out some brand-new homes!

1. Punta Gorda, FL

Median new-construction sale price: $359,000*
New-housing permits: 4,794 (43 per 1,000 existing units)

If you’ve always dreamed of buying a new home on the water, then you might want to take a look at Punta Gorda. The coastal Florida city, about an hour south of Sarasota and 40 minutes north of Fort Myers, sits along the Peace River near the Gulf of Mexico.

It boasts a network of canals, making it easy to live on or within a few blocks of the water at an affordable price. The median sale price for a newly constructed home, at $359,000, is well below the national median of about $465,000 in October 2023.

It’s the quality of life that coastal living in Florida provides that is attracting people to the area, especially new-home shoppers, says real estate agent Barton.

“Demand is extremely high,” she says. “There’s nothing more wonderful than waking up, looking outside, and seeing the sunshine and palm trees.”

The other big advantage to new construction is these homes generally are built with materials and methods that hold up better against the tropical storms and hurricanes that have devastated the state.

“People are migrating here because the weather is beautiful, but they also want to be prepared,” says Barton.

2. Myrtle Beach, SC

Median new-construction sale price: $341,000
New-housing permits: 11,965 (40 per 1,000 existing units)

Myrtle Beach is known for its picturesque Atlantic coastline, placid beaches, and lively boardwalk and entertainment scene. The area has been a popular resort destination since the early 20th century.

For home shoppers, it offers plenty of newly built single-family homes, condos, and a smattering of townhomes to choose from. The best part is they’re priced around 25% below the national average. And there are lots more new builds on the way.

“People are flocking to these areas that have both affordability and lifestyle amenities,” says Hannah Jones, a Realtor.com senior economic analyst.

Home shoppers in Myrtle Beach can find builders advertising newly constructed, three-bedroom townhomes for $281,000 or a five-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home for $463,000.

3. Greeley, CO

Median new-construction sale price: $551,000
New-housing permits: 4,555 (38 per 1,000 existing units)

Greeley was founded in the mid-19th century as an experimental utopian community emphasizing agriculture, education, and family values. Located on the high plains of Northeastern Colorado, 25 miles east of the Rocky Mountains and about 50 miles northeast of Denver, it developed into a prosperous agricultural center, as well as a focal point for industries like mining and oil and gas extraction.

But more recently, the area has been transforming into more of a suburban hub of new-home construction.

“In a lot of ways, there’s still an old cowboy-type mentality,” says Natalee Newsom, a Realtor® with Realty One Group in Greeley. “But we’re up and coming and very suburban now.”

The population of the metro area has grown by more than 30% in the past decade, ranking it as one of the fastest-growing areas in the country.

Greeley’s new-home prices rank it among the more expensive locations. However, new homes here are around $50,000 less than in Fort Collins, directly west, and closer to $1,500,000 less than Colorado’s high-priced capital, Denver.

4. Austin, TX

Median new-construction sale price: $452,000
New-housing permits: 35,368 (37 per 1,000 existing units)

Over the past few years, Austin has experienced a rapid tech and cultural boom that has driven the quirky state capital’s transformation into one of the nation’s hottest housing markets.

Since 2010, the population in the Austin metro has grown by a staggering 40%, according to the Census Bureau. Many companies and new residents seemed to pour into the area during the COVID-19 pandemic. With that population growth has come a wave of new construction to meet the skyrocketing demand.

Builders in the Austin area received 35,000 new-housing permits in the past 12 months. This topped every other place on our list for the raw number of housing permits recently issued.

New-home prices in Austin aren’t too far from the national average, and yet it’s still possible to find a newly constructed condo advertised for about $200,000. Buyers looking for more square footage might want to consider a newly built, four-bedroom home for about $460,000.

5. Boise, ID

Median new-construction sale price: $481,000
New-housing permits: 10,150 (34 per 1,000 existing units)

The capital of Idaho was another pandemic-era hot spot that attracted transplants from other, more expensive areas. As a result, builders ramped up construction, big-time.

Boise has a lot of natural beauty and the sort of quality-of-life offerings that buyers are looking for in a new city. Residents have easy access to nearby rivers, lakes, and mountains for hiking in the summer and snow sports in the winter. There’s also a unique performing arts scene, including the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and Ballet Idaho.

New homes in the area do cost a bit more than the national average, a reflection of the high demand here. But with more than 10,000 new homes permitted in the past 12 months, there are lots of new-build options for home shoppers, with more in the pipeline.

Newly built, contemporary condos in Boise can be found for around $320,000. Meanwhile, grander homes, like this luxurious three-bedroom with an RV garage, can fetch north of $1 million.

6. Raleigh, NC

Median new-construction sale price: $474,000
New-housing permits: 19,511 (34 per 1,000 existing units)

Located in east-central North Carolina, Raleigh sits at the junction of the hilly Piedmont region and the flat coastal plain. The area boasts a mild climate, more than 9,000 acres of parkland, and a growing economy with lots of good-paying science, technology, engineering, and math-related jobs.

The greater Raleigh metro area—often referred to as the Research Triangle—is another high-demand, fast-expanding area, where new construction has been surging for some time. Raleigh was not only on our list of new-construction hot spots from last year, it’s even in the same No. 6 slot.

A brand-new, two-bedroom condo in Raleigh’s College Park neighborhood, outfitted with modern finishes and stainless-steel appliances, can be found for about $375,000.

7. Provo, UT

Median new-construction sale price: $799,000
New-housing permits: 6,360 (32 per 1,000 existing units)

The Provo metro, which includes Orem in northern Utah’s scenic Wasatch Mountain landscape about 45 minutes south of Salt Lake City, is the most expensive place on our list.

The lack of affordability, according to Joel Carson, a Realtor and the principal broker at Utah Real Estate in Provo, is due to the exploding demand in the area.

“In the northern Utah area, we just don’t have the inventory to meet the demand,” Carson says.

Ever since Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, outdoor enthusiasts have swarmed in.

“It’s the recreation here,” he says. “It’s the mountains. And the ski resorts, they’re just 20 minutes from the airport.”

Builders have responded by putting up new homes to meet the demand. A good deal of former farmland in the area is being transformed into residential spaces.

“Dad starts a farm and becomes successful, and maybe his kids take it over,” Carson says. “But by the time it’s the grandkids, they’re usually not trying to be farmers anymore. So these big swaths of land come up for sale, and the housing demand just eats it up.”

8. Fayetteville, AR

Median new-construction sale price: $329,000
New-housing permits: 7,091 (32 per 1,000 existing units)

Fayetteville, located in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, might be less familiar than other areas on our list. But it also made our new-construction ranking last year, although it’s dropped down the list a bit.

One of the main draws for the area is the affordability. New-construction prices here are around 30% below the national average.

The Fayetteville metro, which includes Bentonville, a growing area where Walmart is headquartered, is close to natural attractions. Beaver Lake is directly west of the metro, and the Boston Mountains are farther to the southwest.

New-home shoppers can find a three-bedroom for a little over $300,000. Or they might be enticed by a large, custom, barn-style home on 6 acres for about $650,000.

9. Sioux Falls, SD

Median new-construction sale price: $243,000
New-housing permits: 3,653 (31 per 1,000 existing units)

The only Midwestern metro to make the list—but by far the most affordable, with lots of new construction—is Sioux Falls. The largest city in the state sits at the corner where South Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa meet.

Locals and visitors can spend a few hours at the 120-plus-acre Falls Park, where the Big Sioux River cascades over the falls, or view sculptures on display throughout the downtown of the city.

With homes here priced at nearly half of the national new-construction average, cash-constrained buyers are giving the area a closer look.

A brand-new, three-bedroom home with a two-car garage and a spacious backyard goes for less than $280,000. A smaller three-bedroom home in Sioux Falls can be found for closer to $200,000.

10. Huntsville, AL

Median new-construction sale price: $370,000
New-housing permits: 5,753 (27 per 1,000 existing units)

Last on our list is Huntsville, an affordable Southern metro in northern Alabama. It’s become a hotbed for the tech and aerospace industries. In turn, the area’s growing economy is bringing lots of new residents and driving demand for new housing.

NASA has long had a presence in the city, but industrial giants like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman have become high-tech mainstays of the local economy.

And with new-construction prices about 20% below the national average, the well-paid employees of those companies have lots of affordable housing options.

“We’re getting a lot of jobs and a lot of relocations,” says local real estate broker Matt Curtis, of Matt Curtis Real Estate. “A huge percentage of the buyer sales are going toward new construction.”

He says that even as Huntsville remains affordable, in general, builders have been offering tremendous deals on new homes. That enables them to quickly start the next development project.

“New construction typically costs more than an existing home,” he says. “But in reality, it’s the inverse right now. It’s new construction that’s more affordable than existing homes right now, because of the motivation of builders versus home sellers.

“We haven’t seen this level of incentives from builders since the Great Recession of 2008,” he adds.

* These are the median sales prices for the 12 months ending in November 2023, using CoreLogic data.

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