New home starts up 23 percent
New single-family home permits issued in Northeast Florida totaled 222 in April, up 23 percent from March’s total of 180, and up 16 percent from February’s total of 192.
From March to April permits more than doubled in Clay and Nassau counties, and rose 32 percent in St. Johns County. Permits remained the same in both March and April in Duval County.
The total permits issued in each of the four counties in April were: 92 in Duval County, 13 in Nassau County, 95 in St. Johns County and 22 in Clay County. The total permits issued a year ago in April 2008 totaled 588, and in April 2007, 796.
Economists speaking at the April 23 National Association of Home Builder’s Construction Forecast Conference indicated the nation’s housing industry and the economy have just about seen the worst of the downturn that intensified since last September’s turmoil and the financial markets.
NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe said there are several reasons to believe that “the housing recession is nearing an end and housing will return on a very slow basis.”
New single-family home sales most likely reached their trough in the first quarter of this year, hitting a record low of 320,000 on a seasonally adjusted annual basis, down from 1.2 million at the peak. Sales for 2009 are projected to total 364,000, Crowe said, 24 percent below the 2008 level, and then climb 47 percent next year to 539,000. About 360,000 single-family homes are expected to be started this year, he said, a 42 percent decline from 2008, which will be followed by a 45 percent rise to 523,000 units in 2010. Prime conventional conforming home mortgage interest rates, which are at a generational low of 4.75 percent – along with low home prices and the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit – have greatly improved housing affordability, generating a notable increase in prospective home buyer traffic that should begin translating into sales.
“We’ve been through a tough time. It’s been exacerbated by the credit markets shutting down and turning the lights out,” said James Glassman, senior economist for JP Morgan Chase. “But by this fall there will be general confidence that we’re on the road to recovery and the tide is turning.”
Source: NAHB.org
The data is compiled the first of the month from city and county building departments by the Northeast Florida Builders Association for Clay, Duval, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
The permit activity report is updated the first working day after the end of the month and is available by e-mail distribution. To add your name to the distribution list, or for detailed historic data, call Jayne Krichbaum at (904) 725-4355 or e-mail jkrichbaum@nefba.com.
Monthly Totals - 2009. Single-Family Residential Permits.
Compiled from city and county building departments and the Northeast Florida Builders Association for Jacksonville area (Duval, Clay, Nassau & St. Johns counties). Data is presented for single-family dwellings.
|
