Sounds odd. Starts up, permits down??
WTF?
Could be they are finsihing up what was in the pipeline.
“Sounds odd. Starts up, permits down??”
Not necessarily. There is this odd phenomenon that slows housing construction on a seasonal basis, especially in the northern parts of the United States. It is called winter.
A house started in October can get finished before winter bites. But permits imply that construction will begin in the near future — November, December, January.
I think what is being seen is a flurry of construction before the start of winter, followed by a seasonal production slump.
Hi Brian, Not at all. The 'starts' are on homes whose permits were already were processed.
Many subdivisions are approved with roads and sewers being completed, but foundations of homesites not poured.
The fact that permits are down are an indication that builders are scrambling to get finished on lots they are paying interest to banks, etc..
Sounds odd. Starts up, permits down??
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In my area permits are greatly affected by taxes ,, huge “impact fees” to go into affect Jan 1,’08 ... get the permit 12/31 and you save $10k or so ,,, still permits are down... also many older apartments are being remodeled to get higher rents or converted back from condo to rental units..