The St. George-Mesquite market experienced a slight decrease in new home closings in the fourth quarter, and the median price also fell, which indicates the market is not gunning for an intense affordability squeeze this year. Despite the fall in new home closings quarter-over-quarter, closings jumped from 165 to 202 year-over-year. The bulk of new homes sold in 2014 were between $200,000 and $350,000, with a fourth-quarter median closing price of $282,900. This is approximately a $25,000 drop in median closing price from all three previous quarters, marking a slow end of the year for sales. Shortened supply driving up prices is not likely the problem.
VDL supply finished the year in the St. George market at 48.2 months—the highest
supply of the Rocky Mountain markets. Ence Brothers Construction led closings (39) in St. George-Mesquite, with a strong enough
quarter to still make the top ten list of builders across all four
Rocky Mountain markets.
