A Guide to Buying a Home or Renting an Apartment in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Relocating to Sioux Falls, SD? It's important to know the best neighborhoods, the best schools, and the best home prices before you buy a home. The real estate market in Sioux Falls, is more stable than in other mid-sized cities, but it is still important to be smart about where you buy a home or real estate. Not yet in the market to buy? Sioux Falls, SD has apartments, condos, townhouses, and homes for rent in almost every neighborhood. Explore your options and make an informed decision about real estate in Sioux Falls.

Deciding whether to buy or rent a home in Sioux Falls can be a difficult decision. While most homes are owner occupied in Sioux Falls, there are plenty of great properties to rent, especially near the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana College. If you are ready to buy there is a full range of prices for homes in Sioux Falls. Practically any price range can be accommodated from high-end luxury homes to affordable, foreclosed, or auctioned homes.

Sioux Falls is also ripe with home investment opportunities. As the population grows, and new construction has slowed, older homes can be purchased and refurbished to be sold. The city council of Sioux Falls is serious about revitalizing the downtown area, an area that currently has many low- to moderately-priced homes.

The median home price in Sioux Falls is $157,900 compared to a national average of $180,000, making Sioux Falls a highly affordable place to live. While home values have fallen along with the national average, they have improved from their 2009 low of $155,000.

The Zip Codes that fared the best during the real estate downturn were 57107 and 57110. The home prices in these areas actually improved while other Zip codes in the greater Sioux Falls area fell. These Zip codes represent suburban areas.

The real estate options in Sioux Falls are mostly single family homes, which represent 76.7% of all homes. The percentage of condos is a minuscule 0.2% of all homes.

15% of homes in Sioux Falls have been built in the last 10 years.

All data in this section was compiled from Zillow.com

Everyone knows that real estate is all about location, and Sioux Falls is no different. Neighborhoods change over time, but some features tend to help neighborhoods retain home values. Keep this in mind when buying a home.

If you are not buying, then rent and apartment in the neighborhood that best suits your needs. Maybe you want to be close to work or maybe being close to the parks is important. There are plenty of apartments and homes for rent near the universities, great for students, professors, or families.

Sioux Falls has beautiful parks and the best neighborhoods are often adjacent to or surround these parks. McKennan Park, for example, has many historic homes surrounding this park that boasts play equipment and a wading pool for kids, events, and plenty of green space.

All along the river there are parks and an expanding network of bike trails. The neighborhoods near these parks often have better home values.

Augustana College, in the heart of Sioux Falls, is as picturesque as a park, is centrally located, and is near many conveniences–restaurants, grocery stores, etc. The houses around Augustana tend to be more affordable that those around McKennan Park, but they also tend to be smaller.

The Zip Code data above covers too large an area to be helpful when choosing a neighborhood, so talk to your real estate agent about individual houses that have sold in that neighborhood or look at data for yourself at Zillow or Trulia.

Sioux Falls is more affordable than almost any other mid-sized city, so do not be surprised if your home-buying dollar goes farther than you expect. Don't be scared by a low price. There are many bargains, even on great houses.

Every decision about schools should take into account the individual needs of a child. With that in mind, Sioux Falls offers a range of options for children of school age. The public school system offers a traditional comprehensive school experience. This is the mainstream school system that is available in almost every city in the country. Schools like Mark Twain Elementary feed into Patrick Henry Middle and eventually Lincoln High School. All fine options.

There are private and parochial school options as well. The largest of theses is the Catholic high school, O'Gorman.

Sioux Falls has a number of colleges and universities that offer a full range of degree options for students at any stage of their academic careers. The two largest state universities are an hour's drive from the city.

In Sioux Falls, there is the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana College. Both are primarily undergraduate institutions that offer a liberal arts education. They have a growing number of graduate programs for continuing education and advanced degrees.

The University of South Dakota and South Dakota State along with other public institutions have started a University Center in Sioux Falls which opens a large number of offerings to people ine the city without their having to travel to Vermillion or Brookings, where the universities' main campuses are.

There are also community and technical colleges in Sioux Falls, including Kilian and National American University. They offer Bachelor's, Associate, and graduate degrees.

For those people who want more house for their money or enjoy a smaller town setting, they might consider the towns of Tea or Brandon. The real estate in these suburbs tends to be less expensive. These suburbs have grown in the last ten years and home price data suggest that home values have increased during that time.