News

Housing starts ramped up in spring

By Bill Moss, Published: June 27, 2015

Housing starts jumped 81 percent in the first five months of this year and are running 21 percent ahead in the first 11 months of the fiscal year that ends on June 30, the Henderson County Building Inspections records show.

Contractors took out 32 permits for new residential units in May and have pulled 259 permits since Jan. 1 compared to 143 for the first five months of 2014. For the calendar year so far, the value of new residential and commercial construction totaled $83.8 million, up 47.2 percent over 2014. Commercial construction, valued at $36.9 million, was up 53 percent.
For the fiscal year, the total new construction value of $139 million was 27 percent ahead of the same period a year ago, at $109.6 million.
The only drop was in remodeling and additions. That value fell by 10.4 percent this calendar year and 16 percent for the fiscal year.