Birmingham Building Permits Rise

Building permits for new single family homes in Birmingham rose nearly 30 percent last month, said a new construction report released Wednesday.

According to the Alabama Center for Real Estate, 106 building permits were issued in November for new homes. That’s more than 29 percent over the 82 issued in the same month last year, but more than 13 percent less than the previous month. And year-to-date was down nearly 35 percent over the first 11 months of last year.

However, new home sales surged nearly 24 percent for the month in the Birmingham area and nearly 14 percent for the year. Year-to-date was down by 46 percent.

Alabama new home permits also saw a year-over-year increase. The center said 663 permits were issued last month for new homes in the state - nearly 18 percent over November 2008, but nearly 7 percent less than October.

But statewide sales surged more than 29 percent for the month and nearly 50 percent for the year.

The report also said housing inventory in Alabama’s metro areas decreased by 61 percent during November to a 5.6 month supply of new homes on the market, compared to last year’s 14.3 month supply.

The center’s prediction for 2010? “In 2010, Alabama housing starts and new construction sales are preliminarily projected to return to positive (year-over-year) growth of 10 to 15 percent.”