Builders call for stimulus

   Colorado Springs-area home construction remained in a funk last month, and some local builders say a second federal economic stimulus package might be needed to target the nation's sagging housing industry.

   Single-family building permits in El Paso County, one of the area's more reliable yardsticks to measure home construction, totaled 134 in April, down nearly 48 percent from the same month last year, according to figures released Friday by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

   For the first four months of the year, permits totaled 489, down 45.2 percent from the same period last year.

   At that pace, building permits could total 1,800 for the year, said Bobby Ingels, board president of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs. If so, that would be the lowest annual total since the early 1990s.

   By comparison, single-family building permits totaled a record 5,314 in 2005, and sunk to 741 in 1990.

   Because of the nation's ongoing mortgage industry crunch, it's probably tough for some homebuyers to obtain loans, Ingels said. Likewise, tighter credit makes it more difficult for some builders to borrow money to buy land and construct homes, he said.

   Shaky consumer confidence also is hurting the market, he said, and some buyers probably are waiting to see if prices will continue to fall.

   Ingels, in Washington, D.C., to attend a meeting of the National Association of Home Builders, of which he's a board member, said he likes the idea of incentives for first-time homeowners and buyers of foreclosed properties. The ideas still must be studied, he added.

   Mark Watson, president and co-owner of New Generation Homes in Fountain, a longtime local builder, said foreclosed properties pose stiff competition for resale and new-home markets. When foreclosed homes come back on the market, they often sell at a discount, he said.

   "The sooner that inventory dries up, the demand for new homes will go up," he said.

   Buyer incentives - such as low-interest loans - would be good for the economy, and not just because builders like himself might benefit, Watson said.

   Homebuilding creates jobs, Watson said; local economist Fred Crowley has estimated the construction of one house creates four jobs. Home construction and building material purchases generate millions of dollars annually in sales tax revenue for the Springs and El Paso County, which use the money to pay for basic services such as roads and parks.

   The federal government's current economic stimulus package - rebates of up to $600 for individuals and $1,200 for couples, which started going out this week - will do little for the housing industry, Watson and Ingels agreed.

   "You can give people $1,000 all you want," Watson said. "They'll spend it on durable goods (such as appliances) or whatever. But a real economic stimulus is to create jobs in the building industry."

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