Building Permits Level Off

By Sandy James
Published: March 13, 2008

Orange County residential building permits are down compared to the last few years, but are in line with numbers from the first part of the decade.

There were 349 residential permits issued in 2007 (including single family dwellings, townhouses, duplexes and mobile homes), down from 437 in 2006. Permits peaked in 2005 with 758. But Orange County Building Official Bill Schwind said this number represented an unusual boom in residential building starts. Another boom occurred in 2004 with 614 permits. The average number of permits from 2000 to 2003 was 384. So, the 349 figure for 2007 does not display a drastic decrease. Permits have been issued for 20 single family dwellings so far this year.

“I have been here since 1991, and we have seen consistent growth. What is going on in Orange County is similar to what is going on in the whole country. We saw a similar cycle in the 1980s,” Schwind said.
Lake of the Woods and other developments are nearing build-out capacity, so the decline in those areas is a natural one.

Many big builders like Ryan Homes and Prospect Homes have moved out of Orange County. “There are now more opportunities for local people to build houses and provide jobs for local workers,” said Schwind.

There are many commercial projects in the works. Schwind says this too is a trend. When residential building slows down, commercial construction usually picks up.

Alex Waugh at Century 21 Real Estate said, “The residential market is extremely slow right now.” There are currently 452 residential properties for sale in Orange County and many of these are foreclosures. However, he said, there are fewer foreclosures in Orange County than in surrounding counties.

Waugh said the balance is fairly even between newly built homes and older homes on the market.

Shannon Hudson of Milestone Realty said the market has improved since January. “There are more people looking, and for those who have good credit, this is a great time to purchase a home,” Hudson said. She also said inventory is huge and prices and interest are low. She said this is a good opportunity for first-time and local buyers.

Hudson said the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is trying to become more user-friendly and this will be a great tool for Realtors.