Buyers in Southern boomtowns like Charleston and Greenville, SC, can find affordable new builds, higher inventory, and builder incentives.
While the U.S. continues to struggle with a shortage of an estimated 4 million housing units, a handful of residential construction powerhouses are rising to the challenge, churning out new homes at a rapid pace to meet soaring demand.
A new Realtor.com® report identifies the top 10 cities offering homebuyers the best blend of new-construction inventory, affordability, and sustainability.
Evaluated across the nation's 100 largest metros by population, these premier new-construction boomtowns are scored and ranked on four factors: new-home share of listings, new-construction premiums over existing homes, climate risk difference, and buyer demand for new construction based on page views per listing and median time on the market.
The South overwhelmingly dominates, claiming eight of the 10 spots—including six in the Carolinas alone. This should come as no surprise, given that South Carolina and North Carolina earned A and B+ grades, respectively, on the 2026 Realtor.com Housing Report Card owing to their exceptional homebuilding momentum.
Charleston, SC, took the No. 1 spot, followed by Greenville, SC, Boise City, ID, Charlotte, NC, Nashville, TN, Chattanooga, TN, Winston-Salem, NC, Madison, WI, Durham, NC, and Columbia, SC.
"This year's highly concentrated set of featured markets goes to show that new-construction haves and have-nots are primarily determined by local building conditions," says Realtor.com senior economist Joel Berner. "In the South, land is more readily available and less costly than in other regions, plus more permissive zoning and less restrictive building codes tend to make construction in the South more builder-friendly."
(Realtor.com) Notably, nearly every metro leading in new construction is anchored by a major research university or flagship school that shapes the local economy and drives demand.
And while shoppers might be worried that opting for a new build will automatically cost them more than a pre-owned home, that’s not necessarily true.
In 4 of the top 10 metros highlighted by the Realtor.com report, the typical new home is actually priced below the median existing-home listing price.
Even when new builds carry higher base price tags, it's useful to bear in mind that developers often roll out aggressive incentives, including credits for closing costs, rate buydowns, and multiyear warranties covering cosmetic repairs, mechanical systems, and structural elements.
On top of that, new homes typically require lower maintenance for the first several years and tend to be more energy-efficient, resulting in lower utility bills.
Charleston, the champion of new builds
This newly built three-bedroom home in Charleston, SC, is on the market for $559,900, after the developer cut the price by $5,100. (Realtor.com) This year's top new-construction hub, Charleston boasts an ample supply of well-priced new builds that make up nearly a quarter of the metro's total active inventory.
While existing homes in Charleston are priced well above the national median at $504,832, the median newly built home is significantly more accessible at $443,273. That represents a 12.2% discount—the most generous price gap across the top 10 cities.
A picturesque oceanside city of horse-drawn carriages and impressive antebellum architecture, Charleston is home to multiple colleges and universities, including Medical University of South Carolina, which is one of the metro's top job creators.
Charleston's diverse employment base is made up of defense installations, aerospace manufacturers led by Boeing, and automotive facilities that power the local economy.
"The metro's strong middle class means consistent demand for affordable homes, and builders in Charleston have delivered ample new builds that are competitively priced," says Berner.
Greenville's urban vision and suburban expansion
More than a third of listings in Greenville, SC, are new-construction homes. (Brian / Adobe Stock) Located on the opposite side of South Carolina, Greenville scored in the 10% of markets for new-construction inventory and pricing, helping the metro clinch silver.
New construction accounts for over a third of Greenville's housing inventory, and the typical new build carries a price tag of just $364,493, slightly below the median for existing homes.
As a manufacturing and logistics juggernaut, Greenville attracts newcomers seeking high-quality, well-paying jobs, which creates built-in demand for housing.
Brian Hurry, an agent with the Hurry Home Team at Coldwell Banker Caine, says that buyers at entry-level price points are drawn to new construction because, thanks to the metro's relative affordability, they can secure brand-new homes with modern features while taking advantage of builder concessions.
"You're going to have things that are being built and designed into the home today, like your larger kitchen, butler pantry, large island, your better primary bath and bedroom, energy efficient in every way," Hurry tells Realtor.com. "They're going to be factoring in outdoor living spaces, modern floor plans, storage."
According to Hurry, the true catalyst behind Greenville's success has been the reimagining and revitalization of its downtown.
"They basically built, structured, and planned downtown not around cars but around pedestrians," he says. "And whenever you master-plan that way for an entire downtown, you now have street-level restaurants, art, lots of community-style things."
Other major draws include Greenville's thriving food scene, outdoor amenities such as the famous Swamp Rabbit Trail, and mild year-round weather.
Developers have taken notice, investing in new construction to capitlize on the influx of movers.
"They can build a nicer product here, brand-new, but not outprice what people are willing to pay," explains the agent.
While Greenville has a fair amount of new construction continuing to take place near the urban core, the suburbs to the south, such as Fountain Inn and Piedmont, are seeing the biggest volume of new starts. Hurry attributes this to the availability of lower-cost raw land and convenient commuter access to downtown.
"The original purchase of land was affordable enough that they could build good options to still make profit from the builder perspective," he says.
Incentive-driven Nashville
Builders in Nashville, TN, offer financial incentives like rate buydowns and closing-cost credits to sweeten the deal. (Getty Images) The second-largest metro in the top 10, Nashville is more than just "Music City": It is a bustling employment hub anchored by healthcare, technology, car manufacturing, and finance sectors.
Both local buyers and out-of-market transplants streaming into Nashville from as far as Los Angeles and New York City can choose from an ever-expanding selection of competitively priced new builds.
Newly constructed homes account for 30% of Nashville's listings and carry a modest price premium of 5.1% over existing homes.
"Nashville has become a very buyer-friendly market, and builders are competing aggressively for a smaller pool of buyers," Zach Copeland, a real estate agent at Compass Nashville, tells Realtor.com. "So even though buyers aren’t necessarily choosing new construction more often overall, the incentives can make a new home surprisingly competitive with a resale property."
Copeland points to a short-lived surge in new-construction contracts this spring as evidence of how responsive buyers can be when developers dangle financial concessions before them.
"Builders can offer mortgage-rate buydowns, closing-cost assistance, and other incentives that an individual seller may not be willing or able to match," he says. "That matters enormously when buyers are focused on monthly payments as much as purchase price."
Beyond the obvious financing perks, Copeland points out that in Nashville specifically, buyers tend to get more space with new construction.
The Greater Nashville Realtors® reported earlier this year that newly built homes had a median 2,209 square feet compared with 1,992 square feet for existing homes.
Nashville's residential construction is most active in its closest suburbs, Gallatin and Mount Juliet, where Copeland says land is still affordable for builders to purchase and local schools command high ratings.
"While these two communities are not Nashville proper, they still give residents access to all things Nashville within a 30-minute commute," he says.
However, the proliferation of new builds creates challenges for one specific group: resale sellers with dated properties.
"The current Nashville market punishes sellers who overprice and under-improve, while it's very rewarding to those sellers who price sensibly and have a top showing home," he says. "Those top homes will not be impacted by new construction. But those homes that are overpriced and under market standard are impacted most by new construction."