New Housing Permit Forecast from the HBA

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WEST BLOOMFIELD — Based on single-family new home permit data compiled by the Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan in its Southeastern Michigan Residential Building Activity ReportTM, a total of 277 single-family home permits were issued in Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair and Wayne counties in February 2013.

From a year-over-year perspective, permit activity in February was nearly 47 percentage points higher than February 2012 (189). This year’s February total is also the fastest to start a year since 2007. Finally, from a trailing 12-month perspective, southeastern Michigan reached a total of 3,861 permits which is 46 percent higher than February 2012 (2,649) and the highest level since August 2007 (4,055).

Oakland County led the way with 118 single-family home permits issued. Wayne County had 99 and Macomb County had 60. St. Clair County did not have any single-family home permits issued in February.

Looking back, this was the best February for Oakland County since 2006. For Wayne County, it was the best since 2007. Macomb County was down three permits from the 63 issued in February 2012. However, prior to that, it was the best since February 2007.

The average permit value across the region was mixed, both among the counties and comparing February 2013 to 2012. Overall, average permit values for the 4-county region improved by 8 percent to $214,235. This increase was the result of performance in Oakland County, where average permit values rose by 41 percent to $239,237. The average value in Macomb County rose slightly (0.1 percent) to $228,700, while Wayne County saw a significant decrease of 22 percent with February’s average permit value at $175,667.