New residential construction in Florida was on the rise during 2015, and Central Florida topped the list with a 26% increase in housing starts since 2014.
Last week, we reviewed residential construction activity in Georgia and Texas. This week, we are focusing on Florida, and 2015 proved to be a year of growth. From the northwest region (including two counties in Alabama) to the southeast portion of the state, every area flourished. Even homes valued over $500k were booming, with increases in starts as high as 44% in Southeast Florida.
By utilizing HBW’s Building Activity Trend Reports, we are able to hone in on specific counties and view permitting activity in each quarter, year and price range. Along with thousands of leads, the reports provide detailed insight on construction in various states, regions and counties. For our purposes, we used the data to gain a better understanding of where the bulk of growth and new residential construction activity took place in 2015, as well as to identify the leading areas for higher value construction.
Growth
As previously mentioned, every region within Florida exhibited an increase in total new residential construction permits in comparison to 2014. Central Florida was #1 in growth, up 26% from the previous year with 12,086 new permits on file in the HBW database. Osceola County experienced the most growth (64%) in Central Florida, while Orange County led for the greatest number of new permits (5,184, +23%).
Southwest Florida was second for growth with 11,363 starts and an increase of 24%. Lee County led for total starts with 3,057 permits on file for the year, while Sarasota County led for growth (34%).
When reviewing the northwestern portion of the state, our report included neighboring counties in Alabama (Mobile and Baldwin). Overall, there was a 16% increase in housing starts. In Alabama, Baldwin County led with total permits for the year (1,536), while the Florida county of Santa Rosa held strong with a 28% increase since 2014 and 1,169 new permits on file.
Both the southeastern and western regions experienced a 6% increase in housing starts. West Florida came in with 11,185 new residential construction permits, and Hillsborough County led the area with 3,708 housing starts. In the southeast, there were 6,100 new permits added for the year; Palm Beach County led the area with 2,188 starts.
FL New Residential Construction Permits – 2014/2015
Top 10 Counties
Across the state, there were some outstanding counties where the greatest amount of new residential construction activity took place in 2015. With Central Florida leading the state in residential construction, it is understandable that Orange County topped the list with 5,184 new permits, a 23% increase since 2014. Hillsborough County in the west was second highest for total starts (3,708, +19%), and Lee County (SW) took the third spot with 3,057 housing starts on file, a 28% increase in comparison to 2014.
Top 10 Counties – FL New Residential Construction 2015
New Residential Construction >$500k
Higher value residential construction (greater than $500,000) was on the rise statewide during 2015. Southeast Florida (1,148 permits) and Central Florida (949 permits) led the state in housing starts within this value range. Southeast Florida experienced an impressive 44% increase in higher value construction, and Central Florida was also on the rise with a 19% increase since 2014. Southwest Florida came in close with 882 new permits on file and an approximate increase of 28%. To the west, there was a 30% jump in higher value construction (679 permits), while the northwestern and northeastern portions of the state were also on the rise with increases in activity of 17% and 12% respectively.
FL Top 5 Counties 2015 – Residential Construction >$500K
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.