HBW has nearly 4,000 new permits on record for Florida home builders during the month of October, with Lennar Homes holding the #1 spot for total starts in 3 out of 5 areas of the state.

Last week, we took a look at the building activity in Texas. This week, Florida is our focus as October brought in nearly 4,000 new residential construction permits to the HBW database during the one-month period.  Lennar Homes was the top Florida builder in October for total number of starts in 3 out of 5 areas of the state (Orlando – 136, Tampa – 124, Southeast – 98).

Looking back at the HBW report and previous blog post for Florida’s Top 10 Builders of September, the Southwest area was leading in total starts.  In October, Orlando took the lead for total new permits with 961 starts and a total value of $302,993,357. With the healthy residential construction activity in Orlando, it makes sense to start with Orlando for our database review.

ORLANDO

As mentioned above, Orlando led the state for total starts in October. By county, Orange County was the busiest with 473 new permits on file, and Osceola was second busiest with 251 total permits for the month.  As for builders, Lennar Homes took the #1 spot for the month with 136 starts, while Meritage Homes came in second with 98 new permits.  As for total value, Meritage was #1 with a total value of $38,905,440, and Lennar Homes held second with a total value of $27,494,898.  D.R. Horton also made an impact in the area with 51 starts and a total value of $14,026,542.

TAMPA

If you are looking at local construction news in Tampa, chances are you are reading a great deal about commercial construction in the area.  Although the HBW database offers detailed permitting information for commercial construction, when reviewing it for residential activity in October, the Tampa area was second busiest in the state with 864 starts for the month (total value: $237,858,648). Hillsborough (323 permits) and Polk (253 permits) counties had the bulk of new permits added, and Lennar Homes led the area for total permits (124) and total value ($37,791,054), with nearly 70% of Lennar’s starts being in Hillsborough County. The Villages of Lake Sumter held the second spot with 104 new permits on file for the month (total value: $31,970,967), and D.R. Horton came in third with 53 permits and a total value of $12,874,350.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

Southwest Florida came close to Tampa in residential building activity as the HBW database gained 842 new permits in the area for October (total value: $227,903,352).  As far as counties are concerned, the activity was spread fairly evenly, with Lee County having 235 starts for the month and Collier (184 permits), Sarasota (181 permits) and Manatee (170 permits) counties all being in close range of each other.  Pulte Homes led residential construction for the month with 106 starts and a total value of $26,749,012.  Neal Communities held second for total starts with 93 permits (total value: $15,822,535), while Lennar Homes took the third spot with 70 new permits and a total value of $17,478,456.

JACKSONVILLE

The HBW database reflected exactly 600 new permits (total value: $142,350,741) on file in the Jacksonville area for October, with the majority of new residential construction taking place in Duval and St. Johns counties.  D.R. Horton held the #1 spot for total starts (79 permits) and #2 for total value ($11,918,130).  Although Dream Finders Construction, Inc. was #2 for total starts (72 permits), they took #1 for total value ($17,586,873).  In the third spot for the month, Mattamy Homes added 46 new residential permits to the HBW database with a total value of $8,487,003.

SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

Not far behind Jacksonville, nearly 600 residential starts (total value: $214,431,480) are on file for Southeast Florida during the month of October.  The bulk of residential construction taking place in the upper counties was focused in Palm Beach (227 permits), while the southern county of Miami-Dade has 147 starts on file for the month. Lennar Homes led with 98 permits (total value: $36,288,643) added to the HBW database, with all activity taking place in Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. G.L. Homes held in second with 69 starts (total value: $20,969,177) that all took place in Palm Beach County, while Pulte Homes came in third with 37 new permits on file and a total value of $9,842,238.

Information utilized for the graphs and above listed figures was directly derived from HBW construction data reports. To gain access to the HBW database and receive custom and detailed reports on the latest building activity in Florida and beyond, please contact HBW for details.