A total of 195 single-family home building permits were issued in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties in January, making this the slowest January since 2015, when 159 permits were issued, according to the monthly report issued today by the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan. The report cites the cold and snowy weather affected the sales.
Additionally, the average new single-family permit value decreased 11.6 percent from December 2018 and 8.4 percent year-over-year to an average of $289,903.
Multifamily rental permits had a strong month, with 272 issued. “It is rare that the number of multifamily permits exceeds the number of single-family permits,” says Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the association. “By their very nature, multi-family projects typically have 10 or more units,” Stoskopf says. “In January, the 272 permits were spread across just five projects, the largest single project being 192 permits issued to Beztak Land Co. in West Bloomfield Township.”
Stoskopf says the association’s econometric model is forecasting a relatively short seasonal downturn with the 2019 new home construction season beginning in earnest this month.
Leading factors in the forecast include the number of people employed, labor workforce, and crude oil prices.
The number of people employed and the workforce stayed flat year-over-year and month-over-month. North American vehicle production increased 21 percent from December 2018 to 1.4 million and stayed constant from the previous year.
Crude oil price per barrel decreased 16.8 percent from the previous month and 17.9 percent year-over-year to $47.20.
The average single-family home price decreased by 7.5 percent to $197,124.
