"It does not include the most significant costs of residential development, including the cost of land, infrastructure, labor, and building materials."
That sentence comes from the City of New Richmond's own 2025 New Housing Fee Report, posted January 31, 2026. State law requires the report, and it lists every fee the city charges on a new home. The city also says plainly that those fees are not what drives the price. That helps explain something buyers in New Richmond run into now. New homes here start almost exactly where the county's existing homes sell, and a starting price is rarely the price of the home you tour.
The Price on the Sign and the Price at 1551 Creekwood Drive
At the time of writing, Creative Homes advertises Meadow Crossing, a New Richmond community of paired and single-family homes, from $415,900. The Creek at Gloverdale is advertised from $429,900. Its cul-de-sac phase of homesites is now open, and a natural walking trail leads to the banks of the Willow River.
Now compare those with the resale market. The Wisconsin REALTORS Association reported a St. Croix County median sale price of $417,400 for August 2026. Meadow Crossing's starting price sits $1,500 below that number. Gloverdale's sits $12,500 above it.
The finished homes are a different story. A move-in-ready home at 1551 Creekwood Drive in Gloverdale is listed at $524,900. It's the Kenny floor plan: 3,116 square feet, five bedrooms, three and a half baths, a three-car garage, a main-level den and a finished lower level. That's $95,000 above the community's starting price. The home is marked with a "Permanent Rate Buydown" incentive and an estimated monthly payment of $2,319. The page doesn't say what rate, term or down payment produces that figure.
So the starting price tells you the entry point, the finished home tells you what a built-out version costs, and the buydown tells you the builder is competing on the monthly payment as well as the price.
What the City Actually Adds
If fees made new homes expensive, the fee schedule would show it. Here are the single-family impact fees in the schedule the city reported for 2025, which carries an effective date of July 1, 2023.
| Impact fee | Single-family amount |
|---|---|
| Park | $681 |
| Library | $1,694 |
| Law enforcement | $221 |
| Transportation | $1,431 |
| Stormwater | $312 |
| Sewer, SAC, standard meter | $960 |
| Water, standard meter | $1,312 |
| Total | $6,611 |
Building permits for one- and two-family homes averaged $1,808 each in 2025, and the state stamp added $35. Homes built under an approved master plan don't pay individual plan-review fees. Together, those charges come to roughly $8,500. On a $429,900 starting price, that's under 2 percent. Removing every one of these fees wouldn't bring a Gloverdale home anywhere near the price range the city has said it needs most.
The fee report doesn't list special assessments or private utility hookup costs for individual lots. Those are still questions to ask about any specific homesite.
Why the Floor Sits at the Median
The city's July 2024 housing study names continued detached single-family development as a priority, "especially at $250,000–$300,000." It estimates New Richmond needs 280 to 709 more owner-occupied homes over six years, including 141 to 348 homes priced between $284,000 and $440,000. Today's advertised builder entry prices fall near the top of that second band. The $250,000 to $300,000 tier has no advertised builder product among the communities covered here.
The St. Croix Economic Development Corporation's 2025 countywide housing needs assessment gives the background. From 2010 to 2020, the county's median sale price rose 76 percent while median income for homeowners rose 24 percent. Owner vacancy fell from 0.6 percent in 2020 to an estimated 0 percent in 2023. The assessment counts 424 single-family homes constructed countywide in 2023 and 444 in 2024. The assessment says construction and subdivision activity still hadn't recovered from the Great Recession.
When existing homes are that scarce, a builder has little reason to price below what resale homes already bring, especially when land, infrastructure, labor and materials make up most of the cost. The clearest local evidence comes from the one effort designed to get under that floor. New Richmond's Starter Home Project aims for new modular homes between $200,000 and $300,000. Its first home has two-plus bedrooms and two baths. To reach that price, the partners, including St. Croix Valley Habitat for Humanity and Derrick Companies, rely on modular construction, invite municipalities and developers to contribute land, and attach resale price limits that keep the home affordable for 31 years. All three levers work on land and construction cost. City fees aren't one of them.
The Resale Side Tightened This Year
That floor matters more because the existing-home market got quicker over the past year. The Wisconsin REALTORS Association's August 2026 report, released September 24, 2026, shows these St. Croix County numbers:
- Median sale price: $417,400 in August 2026, up 7.1 percent from $389,900 in August 2025
- Sales: 96, down from 108
- Months of inventory: 4.2, down from 5.1
- Average days on market: 65, down from 84
These figures count existing-home sales, so the $417,400 median is a resale benchmark. Resale homes now sell about three weeks faster than a year ago, from a smaller supply, at a higher median. A buyer weighing a resale home near the median has less time to decide than in August 2025.
Builder inventory works on a different clock. A finished spec home with an advertised buydown is priced to compete on the monthly payment. A new build ordered from a starting price takes construction time and picks up the cost of every option along the way. Same price on paper, very different deals.
How Fast New Richmond Is Building
The supply is coming. The city issued permits for 129 new single-family, twin-home and duplex units in 2025, plus 16 units in a multifamily building, for 145 new homes in all. That year's preliminary and final plat activity covered Rich River Trails, Fox Run 7th Addition, Cattail Villas and Fox Run 8th Addition. Permits went to open lots in older approved subdivisions as well as lots in newly approved ones.
The 2024 study found that single-family construction had slowed from its 2018 peak. Twin homes added 217 units after 2018, and multifamily added 260 units after 2021. So a lot of New Richmond's recent growth has come as paired and attached homes. A buyer looking for a lower entry point in new construction will more likely find it in a twin home or paired product like those at Meadow Crossing than in a detached home.
Comparing a New Build and a Resale Home Fairly
To compare a New Richmond new build with a resale home, line up the same items for both:
- Finished price. Use the price of the home as you would actually buy it, including lot premiums and selected options, rather than the community's starting price.
- Payment terms. If a buydown is offered, get the rate, how long it lasts, and the down payment behind any estimated monthly figure.
- Lot-level costs. Ask whether the homesite carries special assessments or private utility hookup charges. The city's fee report doesn't cover either.
- Timeline. A spec home's close date and a build's completion date carry different risks in a market where resale homes now average 65 days on market.
- Size and finish. A resale home at $417,400 and a 3,116-square-foot new home at $524,900 aren't the same purchase. Compare price per finished square foot and what's already done, such as a finished lower level.
FAQ
Are New Richmond's impact fees the same in 2026? The most recent posted report covers 2025 and uses a schedule effective July 1, 2023, totaling $6,611 for a single-family home. Confirm the current amounts with the City of New Richmond before relying on them for a specific lot.
Does the county median include new construction? The Wisconsin REALTORS Association describes its report as covering existing-home sales, so treat the $417,400 August 2026 figure as a resale benchmark.
Is anything new being built in the $200,000 to $300,000 range? The Starter Home Project targets that range with modular homes for income-eligible buyers, and those homes carry long-term resale price restrictions.
If you're deciding between a Gloverdale-style new build and a resale home at the county median, Melissa Wiegele and the Wiegele Real Estate Group team can put the two side by side. We'll compare the finished price, the buydown terms, lot costs and timing before you commit to either. Schedule Your Free Market Consultation.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
