The total value of the
residential building permits issued in the county last year also
fell sharply — $675.8 million, compared to the record $1.3 billion
in permits issued for housing starts in 2005.
While residential construction
activity in Volusia County nosedived last year, commercial
construction activity soared. The number of permits issued climbed
to 298, up from the 246 permits issued in 2005. The estimated
combined worth of the commercial permits issued last year exceeded
$311.7 million, up from $231 million in 2005.
Commercial construction
activity declined in Volusia County in the second quarter of this
year. The 36 permits issued compares to 57 permits issued in the
first quarter. The estimated value of the commercial permits issued
last quarter fell to $41.4 million, down from the $172.5 million
combined value of commercial permits issued in the first three
months of the year.
However, the drop in commercial construction activity might not be
as steep as it appears.
Rick Michael, director of the
county’s Economic Development Department, said the huge spike in
commercial construction activity reported in Volusia
County in the first quarter of the year was exaggerated because the
figures erroneously included a large condominium project in Daytona
Beach that should have been counted as a residential project.
But as the saying goes, all
real estate is local.
This certainly holds true in Volusia County,
where assessed home values in the western part of the county rose an
average of 13.8 percent compared with year-ago assessed values,
according to tax roll figures released in August by the county
Property Appraiser’s Office.
West Volusia had the highest overall increase in assessed home
values — up 15 percent from December 2005, followed by Deltona, up
14.4 percent, and Orange City up 13.2 percent.
Assessed home values on the
east side of Volusia rose only 0.3 percent on average; some cities
marking a decrease in overall assessed home values.
Volusia County Property Appraiser Morgan Gilreath said the recently
released tax roll reflects assessed home values as of December 2006
and are not indicative of current home values, which appear to have
continued to decline in general countywide so far this year.
While the volume of homes sold
in Volusia County fell dramatically in 2006 Gilreath said market
prices for homes in the southwest area of the county rose last year,
compared with the previous year’s prices.
“We’re beginning to see
evidence that sale prices are declining in some areas of southwest
Volusia in 2007 ... the strongest market we had in 2006,” Gilreath
said.
The outpacing of
appreciation in assessed home values in west Volusia County,
compared to east Volusia, largely has been the result of a continued
increase in people moving there from the Orlando area, where home
prices overall are higher, according to Michael.
“In the past five years, more
than 34,000 individuals have moved to Volusia County from Seminole
and Orange counties,” said Michael. The majority of those newcomers
have chosen to live in west Volusia, with many continuing to work in
the Orlando area. “That’s why our commuting numbers to Seminole and
Orange counties have gone up.”
In the second quarter, permits
for 122 housing starts were issued in unincorporated Volusia County,
most in west Volusia, said Michael.
New Smyrna Beach issued the
most permits for new home construction of any city in the county
last quarter (128), followed by Daytona Beach (97), DeLand (77),
Port Orange (66), and Deltona (52).
Daytona Beach issued the most
commercial permits last quarter (11), followed by Orange City
(five), Deltona and Ormond Beach (four each) and DeBary (three).
Five commercial permits were issued last quarter in unincorporated
Volusia County.
Several Volusia cities saw an increase in housing start activity
last quarter, compared with the previous quarter, including New
Smyrna Beach and DeLand.
Cities where the number of
building permits issued for housing projects declined last quarter,
compared with the previous quarter, included Daytona Beach, Port
Orange and Deltona.
Gilreath said the slight increase in building permit activity for
new homes in Volusia County in the first half of 2007 “is a function
of what we likely will see six months to a year from now” when those
homes are ready to be put on the market.
“From a long-term perspective,
we’ve not seen the price of large acreage parcels for future
subdivisions drop at all, which suggests the real estate development
industry understands this (the current housing market downturn) is a
short-term phenomenon,” said Gilreath. “They still are planning for
the future.”
