HBW Florida Residential Construction Report for January 2017
In Florida, new residential construction has held solid at the start of the year with nearly 4,300 housing starts and approximately $1.2B in construction value on file with HBW for the month of January. Since December, the Orlando area has pushed to the top for new residential construction, bumping Tampa and the southwest last month and ranking #1 for total new permits. Orlando’s 47% month-over-month increase in new construction activity resulted in more than 1,360 housing starts and nearly $383M in total construction value. The bulk of new permits could be found in the counties of Orange, Osceola and Brevard, spanning an expansive distance across Central Florida.
The Orlando area isn’t just catching attention in the HBW database this month… In a recent listing of the Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities (2017) released by Forbes, Orlando ranked second highest out of all U.S. cities. The criteria Forbes used for compiling the list included population growth, employment, wages, output and increases in home values. When focusing solely on employment opportunities, Orlando was positioned in an even better spot, taking #1 for projected job growth.
Coming in at second highest for total housing starts last month, Tampa had nearly 1,050 starts and more than $265M in total construction value. The greatest amount of new residential construction in Tampa took place in Polk County (341 permits), while the least amount of new construction was found in the smaller county of Citrus (35 permits). When looking back on the Forbes list of America’s Fastest Growing Cities, Tampa fared well ranking #8 in the U.S.
Next in line, the southwest region ranked third highest for total housing starts in Florida last month. In the southwest there were nearly 900 housing starts and more than $242M in construction. The highest concentration of new residential construction took place in Lee County. Lee County was also featured in the Forbes List of Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities, ranking its coastal city of Cape Coral #1 as it is experiencing some of the swiftest growth rates in the country.
Jacksonville and Southeast Florida remained in the fourth and fifth spots for housing starts last month with Jacksonville having 587 housing starts and Southeast Florida having just over 400 housing starts on file for the one-month period.
Florida New Residential Construction Permits – Jan. 2017
When it comes to high value construction, all eyes are on the southeast. Although most areas held steady for the most part, Southeast Florida experienced a month-over-month increase of approximately 5% in the average value of residential construction. Consistently ranking #1 for higher value housing, the southeast had an average value of residential construction nearing $369k in January. Orlando ranked second highest with an average value of construction close to $281K, and the southwest region held in third with an average value in excess of $272k. Jacksonville had the lowest value of new residential construction at approximately $235k, and the northern metro area held its own when looking at growth; Jacksonville ranked #5 on the previously mentioned list of Top 25 Fastest Growing Cities.
FL Average Value of Resid. Construction – Jan. 2017
With Florida being such a sizeable area to cover, we make a habit of reviewing the top ranking counties for housing starts each month. In January, Orlando area counties made their mark as Orange and Brevard took the top spots with 400 and more housing starts in each. In Tampa, Polk County held the highest concentration of housing starts in the area (341 permits) and ranked third out of all Florida counties reviewed. Here is a closer look at Florida counties with the highest levels of housing starts last month:
FL Top Counties for New Resid. Permits – Jan. 2017
Information utilized for the graphs and above listed figures for Florida residential construction was directly derived from HBW construction data reports. To gain access to the HBW database and receive custom and detailed reports on the latest residential and commercial building activity in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma, please contact HBW for details.