Local homebuilding slows again in July; foreclosures decline

The pace of local homebuilding fell in July, the second straight monthly decline after a year of gains.

Single-family homebuilding permits in El Paso County, which measure construction activity, totaled 110 last month, a 5.2 percent decrease from 116 in July of last year, according to a report released Monday by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department.

Home construction had enjoyed a revival over the past year, as single-family permits posted year-over-year gains each month from June 2009 through May of this year. Builders pointed to the federal government’s income tax credit for homebuyers as helping to boost the market; the program was launched by Congress to spur homebuilding and buying after the economy nose-dived in late 2007.

But the tax credit ended April 30 for all buyers other than active-duty military, and some local builders have said they expected a decline in permits once the incentive went away.

Still, for the first seven months of this year, single-family permits totaled 908 in El Paso County, a 43 percent increase when compared with 635 permits during the same period last year.

Homebuilding is a big part of the economy. The industry employs thousands, while the city of Colorado Springs and other local governments look to tax revenue from the sale of building materials to help fund their budgets.

There was better news Monday on the foreclosure front in El Paso County.

Foreclosure filings — the start of a process that can lead to the loss of a home or other property — totaled 353 in July. That’s up slightly from 350 filings in June, but down by about one-third from 530 in July 2009, according to the El Paso County Public Trustee’s Office.

Through the first seven months of 2010, filings totaled 2,773, down 13.6 percent from 3,209 during the same period in 2009. Despite that slowdown, annual filings remain on pace to crack 4,000. Last year, filings totaled a record 5,470.

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