Residential,
commercial permit activity rises in first quarter
Economic Growth charts
Scott Vanacore and his brother, Todd,
recently began construction of a single-family
home in the Westland Village neighborhood at
Hunter’s Ridge in Ormond Beach. It’s the first of
28 homes they plan to build there in the coming
months.
The brothers, who co-own Ormond Beach based
Vanacore Homes, acquired the vacant lots
in March for $565,000, which comes out to just
$20,000 per lot, not counting fees.
Those
same lots would have had an asking
price of around $110,000 each five years ago at the
peak of the last housing boom, according to Scott
Vanacore. He said the opportunity to buy the
remaining buildable lots at Westland Village at
such heavily discounted prices was a deal he and
his brother considered too good to pass up,
especially in light of the fact that sales of new
homes appear to be picking up.
Vanacore
said his company sold eight new
homes in April.
They’re
not the only ones looking to
gradually increase new home construction
activity.
Building
permit data collected by Volusia
County Economic Development from county and
city building permit offices shows that residential
and commercial permit activity in Volusia County
increased in the first quarter of 2010, compared
with year-ago levels.
Residential: Slow rise
in activity predicted
There were 190 residential permits issued
during the January-March period, up from 124 in
the same period last year.
The
increase in new home construction in
the first quarter mirrors the steady climb in sales
of existing homes and condos in Volusia County
largely spurred by the combination of falling
prices, low interest rates and the federal income tax
credit program for first-time home buyers that
ended April 30.
Sean
Snaith, an economist with the
University of Central Florida, predicted in a report
published in April that housing starts in Florida,
which hit bottom in 2009, will begin to rise in
2010, but only by a small amount—less than
12,000 single- and multi-family starts combined
for the state. The bulk of the starts will be for
homes in the low-price range, wrote Snaith.
Countywide, the value of homes and condos
permitted in the first three months of 2010 was
$43 million, up from $34 million in the first
quarter of 2009.While the combined value of new
homes and condos permitted in the first quarter
of 2010 is up compared with the same period a
year ago, the average value of the permits issued
this past quarter was $226,315, down from an
average value of $274,193 for the same period a
year ago.
The new
houses Vanacore Homes is offering
at Westland Village in Ormond Beach range in
size from 1,600 to 2,000 square feet, with starting
prices of around $130,000. Other builders,
including KB Home and Fretwell Homes, also are
offering new homes in the city's Hunter Ridge
area.
Among
individual cities, DeLand issued 36
residential permits in the first quarter, the most
among cities. The 35 residential permits issued by
Port Orange was second. Ormond Beach issued
27 permits, and Daytona Beach issued 25. The
county issued 26 residential permits in
unincorporated areas of the county, mostly west
of Interstate 95.
Matt
Adair, DeLand’s chief building official,
said sales of new homes have been steady, with 36
new homes sold in each of the past two quarters.
Winter
Park-based CPG Construction, the
construction arm for Atlantic Housing Partners, is
nearing completion of a five-building apartment
complex in DeLand called Taylor Place. The
three-story, 105-unit complex is at the northeast
corner of S. Woodland Boulevard (U.S. 17/92) and
Taylor Road.
Commercial: Daytona Beach
continues to lead
On the commercial side, there were 30
permits issued in the first quarter, up from 19
permits in the first three months of last year.
The
combined value of permitted
commercial projects in the January-March period
was $37 million, up from a $27 million combined
value for commercial projects that got the green
light in the first three months of 2009.
The
average value of commercial projects
permitted in the first quarter of 2010 was $1.2
million. This compares with a $1.4 million average
value for commercial projects permitted in the
same period a year ago.
Among
the cities, Daytona Beach issued 13
commercial permits, the highest among
municipalities. DeLand was second with 11
commercial permits issued.
Three
commercial construction projects are
under way at Volusia International Speedway
Square shopping center in Daytona Beach where
a Dick's Sporting Goods, Hobby Lobby and BJ's
Restaurant & Brewery are set to soon open.
