By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

The number of new home permits issued through July in Alabaster is on par with last year, and has already bested the year-end numbers from 2010 and 2011, according to city permit data.

“It looked like it was storming back until we had zero (residential housing) permits issued in June,” said Ward 7 Alabaster Councilman Tommy Ryals. “But it looks like we are still on track to do a little better than last year.”

Through July, Alabaster had issued 32 residential building permits, compared to 34 during the same time frame last year. The city issued a total of 59 permits in 2012, 30 permits in 2011 and 29 in 2010.

The city’s number of residential housing permits took a nosedive after the nationwide economic downturn hit in 2008. Alabaster went from a high of 354 new housing permits in 2004 before ending the year with 100 in 2008 and 48 in 2009.

“We are not there yet, but I think it’s on the way back,” Ryals said. “I’ve got a friend who works in real estate, and he has been a lot busier this year. That’s a good sign.”

Alabaster has seen a dip in its number of commercial building permits this year compared to last year. Through July, the city had issued six commercial building permits, compared to 19 during the same time period in 2012.

The city finished 2012 with a total of 22 commercial permits, compared with 53 in 2011, 51 in 2010 and 41 in 2009. Alabaster’s commercial permit high came in 2007, when the city issued 125 permits.