Finding Your Dream Home: A Look at the Sioux Falls Housing Market

Considering upping your “home, sweet home” game in the near future? Sioux Falls homebuying might look a bit different in 2023, whether you’re a first-timer or an old pro. We talked to one of our home loan officers, Dave Kowalczyk, to get the scoop on financing a home purchase—from the effects of COVID-19 on the market to how things have changed over the past few years.

What are the most common questions you’re receiving about home financing right now?

Is now a good time to buy or refinance?  Yes, absolutely!  Rates are at near record lows right now! If you are looking to buy, the market is very hot, and even though home prices have slightly gone up, rates have come down, so now is the time to do it.

How has COVID-19 affected the way people are buying homes?

Actually, COVID-19 hasn’t really had much of an effect on people buying homes in our area. At each step of the process, everyone is making sure they follow the recommended safety precautions from going into homes to signing the papers. For precautionary measure, however, people are definitely doing more searching online for properties.

What has changed about the housing market in Sioux Falls in the past five years?

The housing market in Sioux Falls has definitely changed in the last five years. Each and every year it has grown. The new-construction homes are going up everywhere they can find land to build on. More and more people are moving to Sioux Falls because of the numerous jobs we are creating and also because it’s just a great place to live!

What trends have you noticed in what people are looking for in a mortgage and the demographics of homebuyers in Sioux Falls?

People are looking for the best rates, low fees and a seamless experience when it comes to mortgages.  The demographics of homebuyers are changing as well. There are more and more young people looking for homes because rent payments are getting more expensive.

What are the benefits of financing new-home construction with Levo versus a competitor?

Our construction loans rock! The benefits we have over a competitor are that we do not require a down payment to do a construction loan. We also do not require any payments to be made while the home is being built. That’s not a common offering with other financial institutions. We also have a flat origination fee of only $1,000, where most places will charge anywhere from .50% to 1.0% for an origination fee—that is a huge savings. Oh, and our rate is only 4.99% on our construction loans