Your next move should feel like coming home.

The September numbers just came out for the Sioux Falls market, and there’s one headline number everyone’s going to quote: the average sale price hit a monthly record of $456,855 — up 19.4% from last September. Sounds wild, right? Let me give you the straight version before anybody runs with that one.

That average got pulled way up by a handful of very high-dollar sales, including one estate along South Minnesota Avenue that sold for $6 million. When a $6 million sale lands in a month with 219 total sales, the average stops telling you much about normal houses. I’m a straight shooter, so here’s the honest number: the median sale price in the city was $344,600, up 1.8% from last September. That’s the number that describes a typical Sioux Falls home. Record averages make headlines; medians make sense.

The numbers that actually matter

Here’s the September picture for the city of Sioux Falls, per the Realtor Association of the Sioux Empire:

219 homes sold, up almost 16% from the 189 sold last September. Buyers are out there and they’re buying.

Median price of $344,600, up 1.8%. Steady growth, not a spike.

450 new listings hit the market, down 2.2% from a year ago. This is the number to watch — fewer sellers are listing.

Sellers received 97.3% of their original list price on average, up slightly from 96.9% a year ago. Deals are still being negotiated; nobody’s getting laughed at for making an offer.

The average home spent 81 days on the market before selling — nine fewer days than last September. Well-priced homes are moving.

Inventory ended the month at 1,011 homes, down 25.7% from last year. That’s a 3.8-month supply, down more than a third from a year ago.

The broader metro — Lincoln and Minnehaha counties together — tells the same story: median price of $350,000 (up 1.4%), closed sales up 9.2%, only 3.9 months of supply versus 5.9 a year ago, and sellers getting 97.5% of list price.

The rate conversation

One more piece of context: in late September, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the first time since July 2023, and the average 30-year fixed mortgage moved back above 7%, according to Freddie Mac. I know rates get all the attention, and I get asked about them constantly. Here’s how I think about it: the rate is one number, but your monthly payment is the number you actually live with. A point of rate movement changes the payment by a couple hundred bucks a month on a typical Sioux Falls home. That’s real money, but it’s not a reason to panic — it’s a reason to plan. Know your payment, work backward from there, and don’t let the headline rate make your decision for you.

What this means if you’re selling

Tight inventory is your friend. With only 3.8 months of supply and fewer new listings coming on, buyers don’t have a lot of other options. But don’t misread the record average price — your home isn’t worth 19% more than it was last year. The homes selling quickest are the ones priced right from day one, in that $150,000 to $200,000 sweet spot, and the luxury end ($900,000 to $1 million) still takes its time at 124 days. Price it like the market says, not like the headlines say, and 81 days on market tells you buyers will show up.

What this means if you’re buying

Yes, there are fewer homes to choose from than last year. But sellers are still negotiating — 97.3% of list price means deals happen every day. Get your financing squared away, know your monthly payment, and don’t be afraid to make a reasonable offer on a home that’s been sitting a while. Fall and winter in Sioux Falls can actually be a good time to buy: fewer bidding wars, motivated sellers, and you get to see how a house handles cold weather before you commit.

Thinking about a move here?

If you’re reading this from out of state and Sioux Falls is on your radar, the takeaway is simple: this market is steady, not crazy. Prices are growing a little each year, inventory is tight, and homes that are priced fairly sell. That’s a healthy market, not a scary one. The folks who do best here are the ones who start planning a few months out — and that’s exactly why I run the “Making the move to Sioux Falls” Facebook group, so you can learn the neighborhoods and the process before you ever pack a box.

The short version

September was a strong month: more sales, steady prices, tighter inventory. The record average price is a statistical quirk — the median tells the real story. Sellers have the inventory edge; buyers have negotiating room and less competition than spring. And rates above 7% mean planning your payment matters more than waiting for a headline.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling around Sioux Falls, give me a call at 605-900-4500 or email me at Drivinhome@hegg.com. And if you’re moving this way from out of town, come join us in the “Making the move to Sioux Falls” Facebook group — real people, real answers, no sales pitch.

October in Sioux Falls is my favorite kind of warning. Pheasant season is rolling, the mornings have a real bite to them, and somewhere in the next few weeks winter is going to walk in without knocking. The almanac puts the average first fall frost around here at September 30, so by October we're officially on the clock.

I spent most of my life with Colorado winters, and I'll say it straight: a South Dakota winter is a different animal. The wind finds every gap your house has. So here's my honest advice — spend one October weekend on this list, and you buy yourself a whole winter of not thinking about it. I'm not your handyman, I'm your Realtor, but I walk through a lot of houses and I see what cold weather does to the ones that weren't ready.

Start with the furnace

The most expensive October problem I know is the furnace that quits on the first real cold night. Get it serviced now, while the HVAC companies still have open slots. Change the filter — and then actually keep changing it through the season. And do the simple test most people skip: flip the thermostat to heat and make sure the system actually runs, before you need it at 2 a.m. in January. If your furnace is getting up there in years, know its age and have a plan, because a dead furnace in a South Dakota cold snap becomes an emergency real fast.

Water is the enemy

Frozen pipes burst. Everything else on this list is worth doing, but this is the one that can cost you five figures. Disconnect every garden hose — a hose left connected is the classic way to freeze an outdoor spigot. If you have a sprinkler or irrigation system, get it blown out before a hard freeze. Drain the outdoor faucets. And know where your main water shutoff is — not in theory. Actually go put your eyes on it this weekend, so if something ever splits at 10 p.m. in January, you're not hunting for it with a flashlight while water runs down the basement stairs.

Gutters, downspouts, and the roof

Clean the gutters. Clogged gutters plus our freeze-thaw cycles equals ice dams, and ice dams push water up under the shingles where it has no business being. Make sure the downspouts carry water away from the foundation, not just dump it at the base of the wall. While you're up there with a ladder, take a look at the shingles — if something is loose or missing, October is the time to fix it, not February when it's under a foot of snow.

Seal the drafts

Pick a windy day and walk the house feeling around doors and windows. Weatherstripping, a tube of caulk, and a door sweep are cheap, and they make a real difference when the wind is howling across the prairie. Flip your ceiling fans to run clockwise so they push warm air back down. None of this is complicated — it's just about not paying to heat the outdoors all winter.

Safety checks for heating season

Fresh batteries in every smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector. The CO one matters most right now, with the furnace, water heater, and any fireplace or stove all running for months on end. It's the silent one — don't skip it. If you burn wood, get the chimney swept and inspected before the first fire of the season, not after you've been running it for a month.

The outdoorsman's October

Here's where my household runs a second list. Get the snowblower serviced and fueled — with treated gas — and make sure it actually starts before the first storm, not during it. Dig out the shovels from wherever they migrated over the summer. Winterize the boat: drain every drop of water, stabilize the fuel, and get it under cover. Swap the garage around so the snow gear is in front and the summer stuff is in back. And if you've got a shop, weatherstrip that big overhead door — those things leak heat like a sieve.

A few extra lines for acreage owners

I sell a lot of acreages, so I see the winter surprises: check the pump house or well house heater so the well doesn't freeze up, confirm your propane or fuel oil level and lock in a delivery before the roads get ugly, and make sure outbuildings are buttoned up tight. A lid you can't find under the snow is a spring problem waiting to happen.

The short version

October is the month. Service the furnace, beat the water problems, clean the gutters, seal the drafts, check the detectors, and get the winter gear ready. None of it's hard — it's all timing. Winter around here doesn't send a save-the-date.

If you're thinking about buying a home or an acreage in the Sioux Falls area — or you're weighing a move here — I'd be glad to talk it through. Call or text me at 605-900-4500, or email Drivinhome@hegg.com. And if a move to this part of the country is on your mind, join Making the move to Sioux Falls — good folks in there working through the same questions.

Every September around here, I start getting the same call: "Travis, I want my own piece of ground." The youth pheasant season opens September 26, and the regular season opens October 17 this year — and there is nothing quite like South Dakota in October to make a person start pricing out sloughs.

Here's what I tell every caller: wanting land and buying the right land are two different jobs. The listing photos will sell you the view. Your job is to figure out how the parcel actually works — in October, in January, and ten years from now.

Start with access, not the view

Pretty ground means nothing if getting to it depends on someone else's good mood. Before anything else, confirm there's legal, deeded access. Crossing a neighbor's field with a handshake is not access — it's a favor, and favors can end. Landlocked parcels trade at a discount for a reason, and that reason usually bites the next owner.

Check the approaches, the section lines, and any easements in the deed. If the only way in is a seasonal minimum-maintenance road, picture a January blizzard before you picture the deer.

Water and winter cover decide more than you think

Pheasants and deer need three things: water, food, and somewhere to survive winter. A parcel can look like pheasant heaven in a June listing and be an empty field by December. Cattail sloughs, shelterbelts, and standing cover that holds snow instead of blowing out — that's what keeps birds through the cold months.

Walk the land the way you'll use it, and ideally in the season that matters. If you can only see a parcel once, see it in late fall. Green-up in May hides a lot of sins.

Walk the boundaries, not just the middle

Fence lines and surveyed lines are not always the same thing. Before you get serious, know what's actually included: corner markers, actual acreage, and whether the "tillable" or "pasture" in the listing matches what the county and the deed say. A cheap parcel with fuzzy boundaries has a way of becoming an expensive one.

Read the land's paperwork like you'd read a home inspection

With a house, you get an inspection. With land, the paperwork is the inspection. Ask about:

• CRP contracts — conservation payments can transfer with the land, but the terms and expiration dates matter.
• Wetland determinations and conservation easements — these can limit what you're allowed to change on a parcel.
• Property taxes — ag classification and non-ag classification are taxed very differently. The county treasurer's office will tell you exactly where a parcel stands.
• Zoning and building eligibility — if you ever want to put a house, cabin, or shop on it, confirm what the township or county allows before you assume.
• Mineral rights — in this part of the country, they aren't always included. Know what you're actually buying.

None of this is meant to scare you off. It's meant to make sure the price matches reality.

Bare land is financed and insured differently

This one surprises people. Land loans generally ask for bigger down payments and shorter terms than a home mortgage. Talk to an ag lender early — before you're emotionally committed to a parcel — so you know what your budget really buys.

You don't have to own land to hunt here — but owning buys control

Worth saying plainly: South Dakota offers millions of acres of public hunting access, including Walk-In Areas and other public lands. A lot of good hunting happens there every single season, and it costs a license, not a land payment. Don't let anyone tell you ownership is the only way in.

What ownership buys you is control: the pressure on your ground, the habitat work you put in, who opens the gate and when. If that's what you're after — a place that's yours to manage and improve — then buying starts to make real sense. Just know the management continues after closing day. Food plots, shelterbelt work, and access trails all take time and money.

Consider the neighbors

Birds don't read property lines. Check the hunting pressure around the parcel, whether neighboring habitat will hold birds through the season, and whether the surrounding land use is stable or likely to change. One great quarter with cooperative neighbors hunts very differently than the same quarter surrounded by pressure on every side.

Hunting it versus living on it

Last thing: decide which job this parcel is supposed to do. A recreational tract and an acreage with a house are two different searches. If you want to live there, daily-life questions — commute, schools, utilities, internet, winter maintenance — come back into the picture alongside the habitat questions. Both are great reasons to buy. Just don't shop for one while evaluating for the other.

The short version

Fall in love with the hunting, but buy with your head: legal access, water and winter cover, real boundaries, honest paperwork, financing that fits land, and neighbors that make the place better. Get those right and the sunsets are just a bonus.

If you're thinking about land or an acreage around Sioux Falls, I'd rather talk you through it early than watch you learn the expensive lessons. Call or text me at 605-900-4500, or email Drivinhome@hegg.com. And if you're weighing a move to this part of the country, join Making the move to Sioux Falls (https://facebook.com/groups/819287810799854/) — there are folks in there working through the same questions.

When my family moved from Littleton, Colorado, to Sioux Falls, we did what most people do. We looked at maps, compared houses online, read everything we could find, and tried to picture a normal Tuesday in a city we didn’t know yet. Some of that homework helped. Some of it only gave us more questions.

Now that we’ve lived the move, I can tell you this: Sioux Falls is easy to like, but it still takes time to understand. A weekend visit can’t show you how a neighborhood feels at school pickup, which route gets busy after work, or whether you’ll actually use that extra half-acre. Those everyday details matter.

What surprised me

The first surprise was how quickly you can get around. Coming from the Denver area, I was used to planning my day around traffic. In Sioux Falls, most errands and appointments feel much closer together. That doesn’t mean there is no traffic. Certain roads stack up during the morning commute, after work, and around school start and dismissal. Construction can change a familiar route, too. The difference is that congestion is usually a part of the trip, not the whole trip.

I was also surprised by how much the city changes from one side to another. Established neighborhoods near the center have mature trees, character, and easy access to downtown. Newer areas around the city offer different layouts and room to grow. Harrisburg, Tea, Brandon, and Hartford deserve a real look, too. The right fit depends on your work, your routine, and what you enjoy outside the house.

What we got right

We focused on our day-to-day life instead of chasing a perfect house on paper. We thought about where we’d buy groceries, how the boys would get to activities, where we could spend time outside, and whether the location would still work as our routines changed. That kept us grounded when every listing started to blur together.

We also gave ourselves permission not to know everything at once. Research helps, but there is no substitute for seeing an area in person. If you can, visit before you’re under pressure to make an offer. Drive the places you’re considering in the morning, after work, and on a weekend. Stop for coffee. Walk a park. You’re not just buying square footage—you’re choosing the shape of your week.

How to get a feel for neighborhoods

Start with three lists: what you need, what you’d like, and what you can live without. Make them specific. “Good location” isn’t specific. “A manageable drive to work, close to a trail, with enough garage space for hunting and fishing gear” is. If you work from home, internet options and a quiet office may matter more than the morning drive.

Don’t assume a neighborhood name tells you everything. Check the actual route to work and the places you’ll use every week. Look at the block, drainage, traffic patterns, nearby development, and how the property sits. On an acreage, ask a different set of questions about roads, utilities, outbuildings, access, and maintenance. A property can look ideal in photos and still be wrong for the way you live.

The real commute situation

Sioux Falls commutes are generally more manageable than what we knew in the Denver area, but “short commute” is personal. Test the route at the time you’ll actually drive it. A ten-minute difference each way adds up, especially if you’re crossing town for work, school, or kids’ activities. Also look at winter routes. The most direct road on a clear September afternoon may not be the one you prefer during a January storm.

Schools: do your own homework

School questions are important, and they’re also personal. Rather than relying on a single rating or someone else’s definition of “best,” start with the official district sources. Confirm attendance boundaries directly, because they can change. Ask about programs, transportation, calendars, class offerings, activities, and the support your child may need. If possible, tour schools and talk with district staff. The useful question isn’t “Which school is best?” It’s “Which school and community fit our child and our family?”

The outdoor lifestyle is a real perk

For us, hunting and fishing aren’t marketing lines. They’re part of family life. My boys and I started Drivin Outdoors because getting outside together matters to us. Living in Sioux Falls puts you in a city with the practical things you need while keeping South Dakota’s outdoor opportunities within reach. You can build a life here that includes ballgames and school events during the week, then time on the water or in the field when the weekend comes.

If that lifestyle matters to you, say so early in your home search. Storage for gear, room for a boat, a shop, an oversized garage, or easier access out of town can change which properties make sense. If you’re looking at land or an acreage, slow down and understand how the property works through the seasons—not just how it looks on listing day.

One last piece of advice

Give yourself room to be new. You won’t know every shortcut, restaurant, park, or community event on day one. That’s fine. Ask specific questions, meet people who have made the move, and let your picture of Sioux Falls get clearer as you spend time here. Moving is stressful, but it gets easier when you have honest information and someone local who understands what you’re trying to figure out.