Homebuyers always have two options with their purchase: do they buy a previously-owned house, or a newly constructed one? Realtor.com® has published a list highlighting the 10 towns in the U.S. with the most affordable prices for newly constructed homes.
The list cites a July report from the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which said that—in general—new homes are slightly more expensive (median price of $429,800) than existing homes (median price of $422,600), but that could be offset by lower maintenance costs and new construction incentives (upgrades, closing cost help, buy-down mortgage rates, etc.)
“Now is a good time to buy new construction because prices have stabilized in the last few years while existing-home prices have risen,” said Realtor.com Economist Joel Berner.
The Top 10 cities for new construction are as follows:
- Talladega, Alabama
The median list price for new construction in Talladega is $223,990. However, this is a fair bit higher than the most recent median sale price ($184,000), a 61.1% annual increase compared to 2023. Even with that jump and low new construction prices, Talladega is still considered an uncompetitive market, with less than half as many homes sold this year compared to 2023 (per Redfin).
Talladega is also the least populated of the towns on the list (only 14,674), with a 3.3% unemployment as of July 2024, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is below the current national average of 4.2% for unemployment (a statistic that can be a negative weight on housing prices).
Alabama also has one of the nation’s highest statewide sales taxes, at 9.29% (ranked five out of 50), according to the Tax Foundation.
- Opelousas, Louisiana
Median list price for new construction is $235,000 compared with a $165,000 median sales price.
Opelousas currently boasts a population of 15,494, with an unemployment rate of 4.9%. Possibly offsetting this relative affordability, Louisiana has the No. 1 highest sales tax rate in the U.S.—9.56%.
- Stillwater, Oklahoma
Median list price for new construction is $239,827; median sales price is $231,000. The city boasts a population of 49,160 and 3.9% unemployment. The Oklahoma sales tax is also quite high, at 8.99%, ranked No. 6 just behind Alabama.
- Kinston, North Carolina
Median list price for new construction is $247,500; median sales price is $173,000.
Population of 19,365, the third-smallest after Tallageda and Opelousas (the only three on the list that do not crack 20,000). Unemployment is slightly higher than the national average at 4.4%.
North Carolina has one of the lowest sales tax rates in the American South, at 7%.
- Jonesboro, Arkansas
Median list price for new construction is $255,555; median sales price is $200,000. This is only a 0.04% annual increase from 2023, suggesting a stagnant housing market.
The population size of Jonesboro is 79,876 (the second largest on the list), while unemployment is 2.5%, comfortably below the national average.
- Florence, South Carolina
Median list price for new construction is $256,990; median sales price is $264,000. This is the first city on the list where the sales price is higher than the new construction list price.
Population size of Florence is 40,072, with 5.2% unemployment. South Carolina’s sales tax is 7.5%, the 18th highest in the nation.
- Lubbock, Texas
Median list price for new construction is $261,000; median sales price of a home is $228,000.
Lubbock is by far the highest populated area of the 10 on the list, clocking in at 263,930 population as of the latest census. It also has the highest unemployment, at 6.9%.
While Texas boasts no state income tax, it makes up the difference with a high property tax (average property tax rate in Lubbock is 1.75%) and the 14th highest sales tax in the U.S. (8.2%).
- Joplin, Missouri
Median list price for new construction is $269,823, while median sales price is $172,000. This, one of the largest differences between new construction list prices and final sales prices, reflects the “very competitive” housing market, as rated by Redfin.
Joplin’s population is 52,518, with a 4.1% unemployment rate. Missouri has the 11th highest sales tax in the U.S., at 8.28%.
- Albany, Georgia
The median list price for new construction in Albany, Georgia, is $269,900, while median sales price of a home is only $48,000. This current median is a substantial drop from 2023 (78.7%, in fact).
The population of Albany is 67,192, with a fairly low unemployment rate of 3%. Georgia’s sales tax rate is 7.38%, the 19th highest in the nation.
- Terre Haute, Indiana
Median list price for new construction is $275,000, compared to $161,000 median sales price.
The population of Terre Haute (which sits near the Illinois border) is 58,335, while unemployment is 4%. Indiana is ranked 25th for sales taxes across the U.S., with a rate of exactly 7%.
Overall results
All these city-wide results for median list price of new construction are at least $100,000 below the national median price. Aside from Terre Haute, these towns are all located in Southern states. Since the South has a perception as a more affordable region, it naturally attracts developers because they think the housing they build will sell.
Homebuyers should be prepared for the tax implications of these locations. Southern states are generally in the bottom half of statewide property tax rates (Texas excluded), but have some of the highest sales tax rates in the nation.
Read the full realtor.com list here.
