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Thursday, Sep. 17, 1998
Area new home permits hit record in August
Buyers rushed to beat new Sept. 1 windstorm code
By GLASTON FORD
Staff WriterAn unprecedented surge in single-family housing permits in August helped propel Corpus Christi's commercial and residential construction-dollar volume to $183.7 million, its highest level in 15 years.
Builders permitted 142 new homes in August -- the best August in 19 years and the best month in 14 years in terms of permit numbers -- as they rushed to get their projects approved before the new windstorm building code took effect on Sept. 1.
``I'm positive that it is the windstorm code,'' said Bill Fleeman, president of the Builders Association of Corpus Christi. ``Everybody is trying to beat that Sept. 1 deadline because there is a considerable difference in the cost of the homes.''
To put August's residential construction permits in perspective, August 1998 is 125 percent higher than August 1997, which had 63 homes permitted, and 63 percent higher that August 1996, which had 87 homes permitted. Sixty-six homes were permitted in July 1998.
The city had a similar surge in residential construction permits in May, when builders thought the code would go into effect June 1, Fleeman said. May's total of 103 homes was the best since 162 homes in 1984.
Building to the more stringent code will increase the cost of a new home by 5 percent or more, Fleeman said.
August's $14.2 million in single-family residential construction helped push total commercial and residential construction in Corpus Christi through August to $183.7 million, the highest total through August since $231.6 million in 1983, according to city records.
Total construction is 8.3 percent higher than last year's $169.6 million through August.
There is a good mix of projects including public and private, institutional and small business, large and small dollar, said Bill Braselton, president of the South Texas Chapter of Associated General Contractors. Low interest rates help too, Braselton said.
``Although there are some large projects, the good news is there has been a wealth of medium-size and smaller projects too and that has been real healthy for the market,'' Braselton said.
Homes must be built to the new windstorm code in order to qualify for windstorm insurance from the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association, the state's public insurer and insurer of last resort. Builders don't have to build to the code but they generally do in case a homeowner can't find private windstorm insurance.
Some builders may have permitted more speculation homes in the hopes of finding a buyer because home prices are expected to rise, Fleeman said. The new code also helped some potential home buyers make up their minds, he said. ``I can tell you from my business that there were homeowners that went ahead and made decisions,'' said Fleeman, who permitted three homes in August instead of the usual one.
New home construction likely will level off throughout the rest of the year, he said.
Braselton said commercial construction should remain strong throughout the rest of the year. Several large projects such as the $24.5 million federal courthouse, a $7.9 million high school expansion in the Flour Bluff area, and a $5.5 million middle school project in the Tuloso-Midway Independent School District, have yet to be permitted, he said.
``For the next few months architectural firms in the community seem to be very busy,'' Braselton said. ``Therefore there should be additional work continuing to come out for the rest of this year and into next.''
Staff writer Glaston Ford can be reached at 886-3678 or by e-mail at fordg@scripps.comPost your comments about local news eventsFront Page || Main Index || News || Business || Texas || South Texas Outdoors || Birdwatching || Sports || Entertainment || Selena || Education || South Texas Attractions || World Wide Web