Sept. 9, 2024

It’s 9,300 square feet, has nine bathrooms and includes a patio the size of many people’s actual homes.

The house at 705 E. Silver Pond Place also carries a price tag believed to set a record for a single-family listing in the city of Sioux Falls.

When real estate agent Mark Fiechtner clicked and published the $4.9 million listing last week, “I didn’t know what to expect,” he said, acknowledging that “it’s a lot of money.”

But it also is on par with how the upper end of the city’s housing market has been trending, he said.

Fiechtner of Dynamic Real Estate looked at the price per square foot for houses that sold recently in excess of $3 million and adjusted because “ours has more amenities,” he said. “This sounds weird, but it’s kind of a value at that price because it’s about the same square-footage price as other luxury homes, and this one has a lot more bells and whistles, and we feel it’s priced pretty competitively.”

So does longtime agent and SiouxFalls.Business real estate columnist Amy Stockberger, who also believes it’s the highest-priced listing the market has seen for a house of its kind — something that’s not on an acreage, for instance.

“Everybody’s stopped in my office and said, ‘Did you see the house that listed?'” said Stockberger of Amy Stockberger Real Estate. “But everybody has had really good comments. The listing is stunning. It has every perk you can think of in that price point.”

She’s not kidding.

An 8-foot door leads to a ranch-style floor plan and extras in every room.

“Where would I even start?” Fiechtner said of describing a house that he acknowledges is far from what typically is seen in Sioux Falls.

“It looks like Santa Barbara.”

The kitchen includes premium Thermador appliances, a built-in espresso machine and high-end Dekton counters with marble backsplash.

“It’s got hidden appliances — you can’t even see the dishwasher,” Fiechtner said. “It’s got a hidden pantry. It’s just really comprehensive.”

The master suite has its own mini bar, sitting area and jetted whirlpool.

The lower level includes a rec room, multipurpose room, guest quarters and home theater, as well as a wine cellar, sauna and steam shower.

An attached six-car garage “is as nice as most people’s houses, with epoxy floors, tall ceilings and all kinds of natural light,” Fiechtner continued.

And then there’s the backyard. A 2,000-square-foot covered patio includes “an outdoor kitchen with remote-controlled screens all around it, heaters in the ceiling, a tile floor, a TV, a fireplace,” he said. “The pool with the fire bowls and water features is cool.”

Built in 2023, the home is occupied by a local business owner — who’s actually building another home on a lot right next door, Fiechtner said, adding that’s not all that uncommon for people who like to customize and move regularly.

“My daughter is 18, and she’s been in 12 houses,” he added. “That’s kind of what you do.”

The area itself adds to the value, he said.

Located near 85th Street and Cliff Avenue, the small, fairly secluded neighborhood is centered around a private pond that’s about 30 feet deep and stocked with game fish.

“I think that’s a huge selling point right out of the gate,” Fiechtner said. “There was a house a few down that went on for $2.6 million and sold the first week.”

Stockberger agrees.

“I think that area is really going to do well as far as appreciation because of our growth pattern, and there’s tons of privacy that will always be there,” she said. “That area has been beautifully developed. It’s a little hidden treasure.”

She floated it to a couple of potential buyers, including some who thought about it briefly, she said.

“If somebody can afford it, they may not want to go through the trouble of building and say: ‘It’s exactly what I want. It’s the perfect house, and I’ll just move in and I’m done.'”

At $527 per square foot, it’s also not out of line for essentially new construction, Stockberger said.

“The builders were priced at $500 per square foot even two years ago,” she said. “I had several clients telling me they were paying $400 to $500 per square foot.”

The No. 1 sale in the Sioux Falls area last year was $3.7 million for a home that sits along a pond in the Arthur Estates neighborhood south of Bakker Crossing Golf Course.

The 6,600-square-foot house has four bedrooms and five bathrooms and was custom-built in 2017 on a 1-acre-plus lot. It included an in-ground pool and pool house, plus a covered porch with a gas fireplace and electronic screen wall.

Fiechtner remembers a house he had on the Parade of Homes seven years ago that was $1.2 million. He estimates it would sell for at least double now.

“Obviously, we went through a huge change in labor cost and material cost, so everything is higher now,” he said.

So far this year, there are 57 houses in the Sioux Falls market at $1 million or more that are under contract or have sold, Stockberger said.

“That’s a decent number in a market that’s 17 percent (down from) last year,” she said. “Inventory has gone up, but there still isn’t an abundance of inventory.”

Million-dollar-plus buyers also aren’t as likely to be swayed by interest rates or even market conditions, she said.

“They’re just making decisions based on life changing.”

As for how long it could take for this record-setting listing to sell, it’s hard to say, Stockberger predicts.

The next-closest listing of its kind she could find is in Dakota Dunes in southeast South Dakota — priced at $6 million for a 9,000-square-foot waterfront home. It has been listed since late 2022, she said.

“And they haven’t taken a price improvement, and that’s at $660 a square foot,” she said. “That’s literally the only thing in our MLS (multiple listing service).”

The Sioux Falls listing could move faster. In the first few days on the market, Fiechtner said he already had serious inquiries.

“Good for Sioux Falls,” Stockberger added. “It blows my mind, but someone could afford to build this, which means there likely will be someone who can afford to buy it.”

Top homes sales of 2023 reveal luxury market that’s trending up