Nationwide, buyers of newly-built homes pay 16% more than average, or an additional $75,552 compared to all homes. In the Lakeland metro, new homes cost 11.5% more, with an average sale price of $359,510 for new builds (compared to $322,477 across all homes).
The full report includes data for 136 U.S. metros, including average sale prices for new construction versus all homes in each market.
The top five metros were Jefferson, GA. Boise City, ID, Spartanburg, SC, Ocala, FL, and Provo, UT. Lakeland was followed by Raleigh, NC, Austin, TX, Fayetteville, AR, and Myrtle Beach, SC.
To identify the cities where homebuyers are most likely to find a newly-built home, researchers at Construction Coverage analyzed the latest data from Zillow, focusing on home sales over the 12 months ending in September 2024.
Metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) were ranked based on the share of total home sales accounted for by new construction during this period. Additionally, researchers calculated both the average sale price for new construction and the overall average sale price across all homes sold.
For additional context, the median year built for the entire housing stock—not just homes sold—was included using 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
