Should You Buy a Home Near Sioux Falls Road Construction?

Is it smart to buy a home near Sioux Falls road construction in 2026?

Yes — if you understand the timeline. Most of the major 2026 projects, including Veterans Parkway, 20th Street, and 26th Street at Marion Road, are scheduled to wrap up by late October or early November. That means short-term detours in exchange for long-term gains: wider roads, new traffic signals, and better access along some of the city’s fastest-growing corridors. Buyers who look past the cones often find more choices and softer pricing than in neighborhoods with no active work at all.

By Tyce Ortman — August 7, 2026

Right now, driving across Sioux Falls can feel like an obstacle course. Veterans Parkway is being restriped for extra lanes, 20th Street near Avera is torn up for a full reconstruction, and 26th Street around Marion Road is down to one lane in each direction. If you’re house hunting and keep landing on listings near one of these zones, the question is fair: am I making a mistake buying next to all this construction?

Here’s the short answer I give buyers: a construction project is temporary, but the improvements it leaves behind are permanent — and those improvements usually land in the parts of town that are growing the fastest. The cones are a timing problem, not a value problem. You just have to buy with your eyes open.

What’s actually under construction in 2026

This isn’t random road work. Most of the disruptive projects are concentrated, and they share a fall finish line.

Veterans Parkway is being widened to three lanes in each direction from just north of 57th Street all the way to Interstate 90, with new or upgraded traffic signals at 41st, 33rd, 26th, 18th, and Madison Streets. Crews are installing pavement markings and putting signals into operation, with work expected to conclude in October 2026. At least one lane each direction stays open throughout.
20th Street between Cliff Avenue and Ninth Avenue, near the Avera campus, is a full reconstruction — new concrete, sidewalks, street lighting, and underground utilities. It’s running one-way westbound during construction and is expected to be finished in early November.
26th Street and Marion Road is an overlay project resurfacing 26th between Sertoma Avenue and Marion Road, then Marion Road itself. Traffic drops to one lane each way at times, with completion expected in late October.

The pattern matters. These are established, high-traffic routes getting rebuilt to handle more cars — which tells you where the city expects growth to keep flowing.

Why the growth corridors are the story, not the cones

Sioux Falls is expanding along a handful of predictable paths: the Veterans Parkway corridor on the east side, southeast Sioux Falls toward Tea and Harrisburg, the northwest side, and eventually the future SD-100 and Veterans Parkway connection. The road work you’re seeing is the city building capacity ahead of the homes, retail, and traffic it knows are coming.

For a buyer, that’s the opposite of a red flag. Homes along an improving corridor tend to benefit once the work is done — better access, smoother commutes, and new commercial development nearby. If you’re weighing whether this is even a good year to jump in, I broke down the rates, prices, and inventory picture in my guide on whether 2026 is a good time to buy in Sioux Falls.

There’s also a practical upside happening at the same time. Builders have been adding inventory, especially in the Tea and Harrisburg growth areas, which gives buyers more options than they had at the peak of the seller’s market. If new construction is on your radar, it’s worth comparing the trade-offs in my post on new construction versus resale in Sioux Falls before you commit either way.

How construction should — and shouldn’t — affect your offer

A nearby project changes a few things about the buying experience. Most are short-term and manageable.

What construction genuinely affects:

Daily access. Detours and lane closures can add minutes to your commute and make showings awkward. Drive the actual route you’d take to work, school, and the grocery store — not just once, but at rush hour.
Noise and dust, for now. An active site next door means early-morning equipment and dust through the season. This fades the moment the project closes out.
Short-term pricing leverage. A home that backs up to active work can sit a little longer, which sometimes gives you room to negotiate on price or ask for closing-cost help.

What it usually doesn’t affect:

Long-term value. Once a corridor project is finished, the wider road and new signals are an asset, not a liability. Buyers a year from now won’t be looking at cones — they’ll be looking at improved access.
Your loan or closing. Road work outside the property line doesn’t change your financing or the closing process.

The mistake I coach buyers away from is assuming construction automatically means a bad buy. It doesn’t. It means you need to separate the temporary inconvenience from the permanent condition of the home and its location.

How to buy smart near a construction zone

If you find the right house and it happens to sit near one of these projects, here’s how to protect yourself.

Confirm the project’s end date. Ask when the specific work near the home is scheduled to finish. Most 2026 corridor projects wrap by late October or November — a short window if you’re closing this fall.
Drive it at the worst time. Test the commute during rush hour and around school pickup, with current detours in place, so you know the real-world impact.
Check what’s permanent versus temporary. A future extra lane or new signal is a long-term positive. A short detour is not. Know which is which before you decide how you feel about the location.
Use the timing as leverage. If a home has been sitting because buyers are scared off by the work, that’s your opening to negotiate on price or ask for concessions.
Budget your cash to close accurately. South Dakota keeps total closing costs low, but you still need the right number. I walk through it in how much cash you actually need to buy in Sioux Falls.

One local cost note that works in your favor: South Dakota’s real estate transfer fee is just $0.50 per $500 of the sale price — about $335 on a median-priced home — and it’s paid by the seller, not you. Your closing is handled by a title company like First Dakota Title rather than an attorney, and your earnest money is typically held by that title company until closing. Total closing costs here stay low compared with many states.

Keep in mind the corridor also crosses a county line. Homes on the Tea and Harrisburg side sit in Lincoln County, which can carry a different tax bill than a comparable home in Minnehaha County — something I explain in my breakdown of Sioux Falls property taxes by county.

The market backdrop

None of this is happening in a vacuum. As of August 2026, the Sioux Falls median sale price sits around $335,000, up modestly year over year, while active inventory is down roughly 30% from a year ago and supply sits near 3.3 months. Mortgage rates have climbed back into the high-6% range, the highest in over a year.

In a tight market like this, being willing to consider a home near active construction can quietly expand your options. While other buyers scroll past those listings, you can be the one who understands the work ends in a few weeks and the location only gets better from there.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does buying a home near road construction hurt its resale value?

Usually not, once the work is done. Temporary construction can slow a sale while it’s active, but the finished result — wider roads, new signals, better access — typically supports value over time, especially along a growth corridor like Veterans Parkway.

When will the Sioux Falls road projects be finished?

Most of the major 2026 projects are scheduled to wrap this fall. Veterans Parkway and the 26th Street/Marion Road work are expected to finish in late October, and the 20th Street reconstruction near Avera is expected to be complete in early November.

Can I negotiate a better price on a home near active construction?

Often, yes. Homes near an active project can sit on the market a little longer because some buyers avoid them, which can give you room to negotiate on price or ask the seller for closing-cost help. Every situation is different, so it’s worth running the numbers with a local agent.

Are Tea and Harrisburg good places to buy right now?

They’re two of the fastest-growing areas in the metro, and builders have been adding new construction inventory there, giving buyers more choices. Just remember those homes sit in Lincoln County, which can carry a different property tax bill than Minnehaha County.

Who handles closing when I buy a home in Sioux Falls?

A title company, such as First Dakota Title, handles the closing in South Dakota — an attorney isn’t required. Your earnest money is typically held by that title company until the sale closes.

The bottom line

Buying near Sioux Falls road construction in 2026 isn’t a mistake — it’s often an opportunity. The disruption is temporary and mostly wraps up this fall, while the improvements and the corridor growth stick around. The key is knowing which projects are near the home, when they finish, and how to use that timing to your advantage.

If you’re weighing a specific home near one of these projects, I’m happy to walk you through the timeline, the numbers, and whether it’s the right move for you. You can also grab my free Sioux Falls Buyers Guide to get started, and reach out anytime — no pressure.

About Tyce Ortman
Tyce Ortman is a residential real estate agent with the Jeff Merrill Team at eXp Realty, serving Sioux Falls, South Dakota and surrounding communities including Brandon, Harrisburg, and Tea. He works with both buyers and sellers, guiding them from first search or listing all the way through closing.