More Than Two-Thirds of New-Home Listing Views Come From Outside Their Metro Area, Realtor.com® Finds

Southern, relatively affordable markets draw the greatest out-of-metro interest as builders use price reductions to compete for buyers 

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 26, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- More than two-thirds (67.2%) of views to new-construction listings in the second quarter of 2026 came from shoppers located in a different metro area than the home for sale, according to the latest Realtor.com^® New Construction Insights Report. That share exceeds the 65.4% of views to existing-home listings coming from outside the listing metro, underscoring the outsized role of long-distance shoppers in new-home demand.

The strongest cross-metro interest is concentrated in Southern markets where new construction is often priced at or below the national median. Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla., led the country, with 83.1% of views to new-construction listings originating outside the metro area, followed by Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla. (82.4%), Port St. Lucie, Fla. (80.9%), North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla. (80.5%) and Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C. (80.2%).

"New construction is increasingly a destination for buyers who are willing to look beyond their current metro in search of more attainable options and a different lifestyle," said Joel Berner, senior economist at Realtor.com^®. "The markets drawing the most distant attention are largely in the South, where buyers can often find a newly built home at a price that compares favorably with more expensive nearby and coastal metros."

Builders Adjust Prices as Existing-Home Prices Soften

The national median listing price for a newly built home was $450,256 in the second quarter, essentially unchanged from a year earlier, down 0.1%. By comparison, the median existing-home listing price fell 2.0% year over year to $408,317. As a result, the national new-construction premium rose to 10.3%, up from 8.2% one year ago.

At the same time, builders continued to use price reductions more often than existing-home sellers. For the third straight quarter, a greater share of new-construction listings received a price cut than existing-home listings, 20.0% versus 18.6%. The share of new homes with reductions increased 1.9 percentage points year over year, while the share of existing homes with reductions declined 1.7 percentage points.

"Builders are navigating a more price-sensitive market with an active, hands-on approach to pricing," Berner said. "New-home listing prices have held broadly steady, but a growing share of builders are adjusting asking prices to meet buyers where they are. That dynamic could narrow the new-construction premium in the quarters ahead."

New-construction inventory rose 2.8% year over year in the second quarter, closely tracking the 3.1% increase in existing-home inventory. New homes accounted for 17.1% of active listings nationally, nearly unchanged from 17.2% one year earlier.

Southern Markets Pair Cross-Metro Attention With Price Flexibility

Out-of-metro shoppers are especially important to new construction across all location types. A majority of views to rural, town, suburban and urban new-construction listings came from outside the listing metro. Suburban new-construction listings drew about two-thirds of their views from other metros, while urban new-construction listings drew roughly half of their views from within their own metro area.

For many of the highest-ranked markets, the largest source of outside interest is a nearby, more expensive metro. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach was the top viewing metro for each of the featured Florida markets, while Stockton-Lodi, Calif., drew its largest out-of-metro audience from San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara. Large, expensive metros including New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., also feature prominently among the top sources of distant interest.

There is also a weak positive relationship between metros with a high share of out-of-metro new-construction views and metros with more new-construction price cuts. San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas, had the highest share of new-construction listings with price reductions at 57.4%, followed by Fresno, Calif. at 50.2%. Charleston-North Charleston, S.C., combined a 36.9% new-construction price-reduction share with 77.2% of new-construction listing views coming from outside the metro.

New Homes Are Slightly Larger, With Lower Price Per Square Foot

The median newly built home for-sale measured 2,050 square feet in the second quarter, up from 2,045 square feet one year earlier. The modest increase in size helped push the median new-home price per square foot down to $217, from $219 a year ago. Existing homes were listed at $222 per square foot, down from $226 one year earlier.

Methodology

Realtor.com housing data as of June 2026. Listings include the active inventory of newly built single-family homes and condos/townhomes/row homes/co-ops for the given level of geography on Realtor.com. Realtor.com new-construction data history goes back to January 2023. ZIP codes are categorized based on RUCA codes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, household counts and square mileage provided by Claritas, and pedestrian/public transit scores provided by Local Logic.

About Realtor.com^®

For over 30 years, Realtor.com^® has connected buyers, sellers, and renters with trusted insights, professional guidance and powerful tools to help them find their perfect home. Recognized as the No. 1 real estate site REALTOR® agents recommend, Realtor.com® delivers consumer connections and a robust suite of marketing tools to support business growth. Realtor.com^® is operated by News Corp [Nasdaq: NWS, NWSA] [ASX: NWS, NWSLV] subsidiary Move, Inc.

Media Contact: Mallory Micetich, [email protected] 

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SOURCE Realtor.com