Sarasota, FL (December 19, 2012) — New home construction slipped across Southwest Florida in November, mirroring a national lull that saw builders winding down for the holidays following a busy year for the industry.
Despite the monthly hiccup, building of homes remains on track for its best year since the housing slump that halted development in Florida and dumped 350,000 of the state's construction workers onto the unemployment rolls.
Housing analysts attribute the industry's renaissance to a depleted inventory of existing single-family homes, pushing more consumers toward buying new -- a trend expected to continue through spring's peak real estate season.
"People have now put off their buying decision for up to five years, so there's a natural, pent-up demand in Sarasota," said Mark Wilson, president and chief executive of London Bay Homes. "It's evident the market has bottomed out and is on the upturn."
Builders in Sarasota and Manatee counties pulled 169 new residential building permits in November, a 21 percent drop from October but a surge of 88 percent from the same time last year, records show.
Led by areas like Lakewood Ranch and Parrish, Manatee County's 121 new single-family permits issued last month reflected a drop of 26 percent from October but remained well ahead of the 65 permits issued in November 2011.
Similarly, the 48 new residential building permits in unincorporated Sarasota County fell a modest 4 percent but compare with only 25 permits a year ago.
Although just a shadow of the boom years, both counties remain on track through the first 11 months of 2012 for their most robust year since the recession took hold in 2008.
Click here to view full article. Written by: Josh Salman
