Pace of home construction picks up slightly in January

The pace of home construction in the Pikes Peak region during the first month of 2012 was a lot like much of 2011: A slight improvement, but still far to go before a sustained recovery takes hold.

Single-family building permits issued to builders and individuals seeking to construct a home totaled 85 in January across Colorado Springs and El Paso County, a 3.7 percent gain over the same month last year, according to a Pikes Peak Regional Building Department report released Wednesday.

Some members of the building industry say they expect the pace of home construction this year to improve. But don’t expect 2012 to return to the breakneck pace of six or seven years ago, when annual building permits set a record of more than 5,300 in 2005.

“2012 is going to be better than 2011,” said John Cassiani of Banning Lewis Ranch Management Co. and this year’s board president of the Housing and Building Association of Colorado Springs. “It’s not going to be significantly better, but it will continue to improve.”

Mortgage rates that continue to be among the lowest in several generations of homebuyers will help drive buyer traffic, Cassiani said. He hopes lenders will loosen borrowing standards and make it easier for buyers to quality for a loan.

“The economy is getting better,” Cassiani said. “You’ve got a lower unemployment rate in Colorado and in Colorado Springs, and I just think all the signs out there seem to be positive in terms of getting the housing industry back in the right direction.”

Homebuilding is a closely watched sector of the Colorado Springs-area economy. Not only does the industry employ thousands, but the purchase of lumber, drywall and other building materials helps funnel millions of dollars in sales tax revenue into the coffers of local governments each year. Those revenues, in turn, are used to provide basic services such as police and fire protection, roads and parks.
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