Most of the new buildings in Alexandria are rentals. In 2025 the city's building department permitted five apartment buildings with 340 units. For-sale houses went the other way: new single-family and townhome permits fell to 42. If you're shopping for a home to own this fall, nearly all of your choices are existing homes. And in September 2026, the resale market in Douglas County started giving buyers more room than it had all year.
That's the short version. Below I'll walk through the projects, the numbers behind them, and what they mean for your offer or your asking price.
The new construction in town is mostly apartments, and a lot of it is 55+
The Echo Press summary of the city's 2025 building report has the scale. At one point in 2025, seven apartment projects were under construction at the same time, the most in the city's history. The five apartment buildings permitted that year held 340 units. In the five years before that combined, the city permitted seven apartment buildings with 526 units. So one year produced well over half of what the previous five years did.
Here's where those 340 units are going, plus one 55+ building next door to The Landmark:
| Project | Location | Units | Who it's for | Latest status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broadway Garden Estates | 3511 S. Broadway St. | 50 | 55+ | Open; grand opening celebrated Oct. 15 |
| The Landmark of Alexandria | 330 34th Ave. E. | 80 | 55+ | Groundbreaking held; fall 2026 opening targeted |
| Trailside Apartments | 716 Darling Ave. | 54 | 55+ | Website says "Now Leasing" |
| Twenty08 Apartments | 2008 Runestone Ave. | 64 | Workforce housing | Finished May 2026; nearly full by September |
| Park and Third Lofts | 917 4th Ave. E. area | 62 | Market rate | Completion projected by Dec. 31, 2026 |
| Unique Opportunities | 1829 Oakview Ave. SE | 80 | Not stated | Four-story building permitted in 2025 |
Two of the five 2025 permits, The Landmark and Trailside, are 55+ communities. Together they make up 134 of the 340 units. Add Broadway Garden Estates, which Voice of Alexandria reported had opened by the time of its Oct. 15 ribbon cutting, and age-restricted apartments are a big part of what's going up around town. When Trailside's developer asked for tax increment financing, it pointed to demand for affordable senior rentals, according to Echo Press coverage of that deal.
Rents give you a feel for what renting costs here. Trailside's availability page lists a studio at $919 and a one-bedroom at $1,399, but the same page mixes "Available NOW" with "AVAILABLE FALL 2026," so check with the building directly. When construction started at Park and Third in November 2025, Echo Press reported planned rents of $1,207 for a one-bedroom and $1,470 for a two-bedroom. That project is going up on a former concrete-plant site that needed cleanup, using state redevelopment grants and city tax increment financing.
New homes for sale went the other way
The same 2025 report shows new single-family homes and townhomes moving in the opposite direction. Permits across the department's coverage area fell from 67 in 2024 to 42 in 2025. The estimated construction value of those 42 homes averaged $413,538 per home.
Compare that to resale prices. The median sale price in Douglas County was $380,000 in September 2026, and $379,000 for January through September, according to the Minnesota Realtors Local Market Update for Douglas County. So the permit value of the average new home was higher than what the typical resale home actually sold for. A permit value estimates the construction work. It isn't a finished sale price. Still, the gap tells you new construction here generally starts above the middle of the market.
The new ownership homes being built with smaller budgets in mind have income limits:
- Summer Meadows, a Habitat for Humanity of Douglas County neighborhood near Scenic Heights Road and Seasons Drive in northeast Alexandria, is planned for 42 homes, built four or five a year. The two- to four-bedroom houses run 1,000 to 1,400 square feet and are for households earning 80% or less of area median income. An open house was held at 1509 Summer Lane on March 3, 2026, as Echo Press covered.
- Nokomis Crossing, from the Alexandria Housing and Redevelopment Authority, is 14 workforce homes in seven twin-home-style buildings near Lake Connie. Ground was broken in fall 2025, and the homes are aimed at households earning 85% to 115% of the state median income.
The one market-rate project in the pipeline is the East Alexandria Townhomes plan. It covers 24 units on an extension of Eighth Avenue East, between South McKay Avenue and Rosewood Lane. Echo Press reported that it got zoning approval in August 2026. No prices or builder have been announced. The final plat was on the Alexandria Planning Commission's Oct. 19 agenda.
If you want to own a home without an income limit, you'll mostly be buying an existing house.
The resale market softened in September
That brings us to the numbers that matter most for an offer right now. Here's Douglas County in September 2026 compared with September 2025:
- New listings rose to 78 from 64, up 21.9%.
- Pending sales fell to 43 from 49, down 12.2%.
- The median sale price was $380,000, down 5.0% from $399,900.
- Sellers received 93.2% of their original list price, compared with 96.9% for the year to date.
- Homes took 58 days to sell, compared with 47 days for the year to date.
Put those together and you get more homes coming on the market, fewer buyers going under contract, and sellers in September getting a smaller share of their first asking price than they did earlier in the year. "Original list price" is the key detail. That figure measures the final sale against where the seller first priced the home, so it captures any price cuts along the way. A drop from 96.9% to 93.2% suggests that homes priced at summer levels were reduced before they sold.
There's also a number that runs the other way. Months' supply fell to 4.9 from 5.5 a year earlier, so inventory is tighter than last September even with the jump in new listings. The report adds its own caution that one month can look extreme with a small sample, and 55 closed sales is a small sample. These figures are countywide and include single-family homes, townhomes and condos together, so they cover lake places and in-town homes alike.
For buyers, this is the best negotiating room the 2026 data has shown so far. For sellers, it means pricing off September's sales instead of the strong year-to-date median, which is still up 11.9% over 2025. Our home valuation page is a good place to start that conversation.
Where the apartments change your plans
The apartment wave matters to buyers in a few practical ways.
Renting first is a real option. If you're moving to the Lakes Area and want a year to learn the towns before you buy, there are more new units to pick from than Alexandria has had in a long time. That gives you more time to watch for the resale home you actually want instead of grabbing what's listed the week you arrive. Our buyer resources cover how to get ready while you rent.
Selling a house to move into a 55+ building means lining up two calendars. Construction dates move, and they don't always match a closing. The Landmark was scheduled to open in fall 2026, according to the Voice of Alexandria report above. Its website is taking tour requests and applications. Park and Third's completion is projected by Dec. 31, 2026. If you're selling to make one of these moves, get your move-in date confirmed before you choose a closing date. In a month when homes are taking 58 days to sell, give yourself some slack on timing. The seller guide goes through how to plan around it.
Homes on septic come with their own winter timing questions. If the resale you're considering has a septic system, read our earlier post on septic and winter closings and check the county's requirements for that specific property.
Quick answers
Are there new houses for sale in Alexandria right now? A few, but not many. The area permitted 42 new single-family homes and townhomes in 2025, with an average estimated construction value of $413,538. The best-known new ownership projects are Summer Meadows and Nokomis Crossing, and both have income limits.
Did home prices drop in Douglas County? In September 2026, the median sale price was $380,000, down 5.0% from September 2025. For January through September, the median was $379,000, up 11.9% from the same stretch of 2025.
Will all the new apartments slow down home sales? The data can't answer that yet. Most of these buildings are opening during 2026, and the latest market report covers September 2026. The October and November reports will show more.
If you're weighing a resale home against renting one of the new apartments for a year, or you're timing a sale around a 55+ move-in date, I'm happy to go through the September numbers with you for your situation. Call or send a note through Justin Habel and we'll work out a plan that fits your timing. Let's Connect.
