New Home construction is on the rise especially in Northeast Florida. More single family home building permits were issued in the four county area in July than any other month since 2008, a total of 629. While St. Johns County continued its high number trend with 259, Duval County was not far behind issuing 248 permits.
Permits issued by county:
- Clay: 81
- Duval: 248
- Nassau: 41
- St. Johns: 259
and an 8.1 percent increase in building permits, nationally. Although 33 percent of new construction was apartments and developments, 8.3 percent were single family dwellings.
The Florida Times-Union reported that homebuilders are hopeful about upcoming months. Home buyers are more confident in sales prospects and conditions as prospective traffic increases. This is perhaps dues to a solid job growth and decline in mortgage rates.
Developers are equally as hopeful for the next six months as buyers. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) builder sentiment index indicates that builders view sales conditions as good rather than poor. The index rose to 55 in August; up two points from July and the highest since it hit 56 in January despite sales dropping 8.1 percent lower than 2013 figures.
Even with lower new home numbers than last year, economists anticipate a national rebound. A mix of rising home prices, weak wage growth, and tight lending standards still impede the market making it difficult for homeowners to buy new construction. This is especially true among first-time buyers but with the US adding over 200,000 jobs steadily for six months an increase is expected.
New home construction, of course, only represents a portion of the market but creates a lasting impact on the economy. According to Home Builder’s data each home built adds an average of three jobs a year and generated approximately $90,000 in revenue from taxes.
Naturally, it will take a while for housing to hit the high numbers of the boom. Jacksonville placed 36 out of 81 markets analyzed by Trulia, a national real estate company, down about 21 percent. Out of the 81 metro areas studied only 20 were above the norm with Boston and New York topping the list mainly due to their large number of multifamily permits.
Northeast Florida’s promising numbers from July indicate that new home construction is rebounding both nationally and locally. To learn more about custom building a new home in your area contact Mike at Cogdill Builders of Florida today.