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By Scott Nicholson
The building industry is starting to pick up steam, but residential
building permits are still lagging behind last year’s totals.
In March, the Watauga County Planning & Inspections Department
issued 55 permits with an estimated building cost of $3.94 million.
That included new construction and renovations.
Workers with BZ Construction,
owned by Butch Zadlo, works on the roof of a building
along the N.C. 105 Extension in Boone. Photo
by Mark Mitchell |
However, in March 2008, 76 total permits were issued, with
a construction value of $9.1 million, with construction value
down last month about two-thirds overall from the same period
last year. In March 2007, 97 permits were issued with a value
of $10 million.
Last month, the county issued 12 permits for new single-family
homes. That was an increase from two in January and five in
February, when construction is typically slower due to the weather.
That was down from 19 permits for new homes in March 2008.
Terry Taylor, owner of Taylormade Building and president of
the High Country Home Builders Association, said March is typically
a time for increased construction because the weather is clearing.
However, while there’s more work available, it’s not
what builders usually anticipate this time of year.
“New home construction is not picking up the way we’ve
expected,” Taylor said. “I’ve talked to a lot
of builders doing remodeling and additions. I think a lot of
builders are taking on remodeling and additions who normally
wouldn’t have had the time in years past.”
Taylor said the climate is favorable for those wanting to build
homes, with mortgage rates staying near record lows. “There
are tax-credit incentives for new home buyers and incentives
for some materials,” he said. “(The price of) some
materials are coming down like metal roofing and asphalt-related
products. It’s not a huge factor but it’s something.”
New-home construction in the county fell about a third last
year, with 217 home permits issued. The $63.6 million total
value of those homes was a 40 percent decline from 2007. New-home
construction permits declined 18 percent in 2007, though average
value of those homes increased.
Land-transfer records showed that property purchases last year
in the county had also declined by a third.
Taylor said the second-home construction market had slowed down
and while many people were renovating existing homes, most of
the activity was in family housing under $300,000.
“There’s not a lot of high-end building,” Taylor
said. “I do know some builders that are doing more lower-end
renovations, putting money into older homes and selling them
for under $300,000. Those builders seem to be doing okay.”
Taylor believes most of the builders in the area are still finding
enough work to sustain them, though they may be taking on smaller
jobs and renovations when they would usually build houses.
“I think everyone’s being as optimistic as they can,”
Taylor added. “I believe the builders in this area, most
of them are getting by. I think things will pick up, it’s
just a matter of how long people will wait. There’s a wait-and-see
attitude. The interest rates are very good right now so there’s
a lot of incentives to get people to start building again.”
The High Country Home Builders Association represents 300 builders
in Avery and Watauga counties.
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