Report: Number of New Home Permits Higher Than Expected in April in Southeast Michigan

More single-family permits were issued in April than expected – 431 as opposed to 409 – in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan. This brings the year-to-date total to 1,173.
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More new home permits were issued in April in the region than expected. // Stock photo

More single-family permits were issued in April than expected – 431 as opposed to 409 – in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne counties, according to the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan. This brings the year-to-date total to 1,173.

This year’s weather patterns are similar to those in 2015. The year-to-date total in April 2015 was 1,086, while the total for April 2015 was 409.

“The reason for the higher-than-forecast new home permit activity in April is most easily attributable to pent-up demand due to weather conditions that inhibited construction from January through March,” says Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan in Farmington Hills.

“Based on conversations I’ve had with builders and lumber companies, the excessively wet weather we saw in April may have further delayed permit activity, thus indicating that May could see even more of an upward trend.”

The average new single-family permit value has increased 5.4 percent from the previous year and 3.8 percent from the previous month to $292,371.

The number of people employed in the four-county region is at 1,920,128, its highest level since mid-2005. This is an increase of 1.5 percent year-over-year and no change from the previous month.

Other positive economic factors include a year-over-year 5.6-percent decline in crude oil prices to $59.83 per barrel (the price went up 5.1 percent month-over-month) and improving 30-year fixed mortgage rates.

The workforce stayed flat at 2,009,500 with a 1.5-percent increase from the previous year and a 0.5-percent increase from the previous month.

North American vehicle production has decreased 6.9 percent from the previous month and 4.6 percent from the previous year to 1,371,414. The average single-family home sale price has stayed flat with increases of 1.8 percent month-over-month and 2.3 percent year-over-year to $215,159.