By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – After multiple years of downturn in the late 2000s and early 2010s, Alabaster’s housing market continued to post positive growth in 2016, according to year-end numbers recently released by the Alabaster Fire Department’s Planning and Safety Division.

Ward 7 Alabaster City Council member Kerri Pate presented the year-end numbers during a Jan. 23 meeting, and reported the city ended the year with a slight growth in new homes compared to the previous year.

From Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2016, the Planning and Safety Division issued permits for 101 new homes valued at a total of about $25.4 million. By comparison, the city issued 98 new home building permits in 2015 for projects valued at a total of about $26.3 million.

The new home numbers were up significantly compared to the previous several years. The Planning and Safety Division issued 30 new home building permits in 2011, 57 in 2012, 61 in 2013 and 77 in 2014.

Alabaster’s number of residential addition and remodels was also up slightly over 2015.

In 2016, the city issued 233 residential addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of about $3.7 million, compared to 231 such permits for projects valued at a total of about $3.8 million.

After lagging behind 2015 during most of 2016, the city’s number of new commercial buildings posted a positive gain at the end of December.

The Planning and Safety Division issued a total of 13 new commercial building permits in 2016 for projects valued at a total of about $5.5 million, compared to nine new commercial building permits valued at a total of $13.5 million in 2015.

The commercial building permits have fluctuated over the past several years. The city issued five such permits in 2011, seven in 2012, 76 in 2013 and six in 2014.

The commercial addition or remodel sector is saw a dip compared with the previous year, according to the report. Alabaster issued 52 commercial addition or remodel permits in 2016 for projects valued at a total of $3.9 million, compared to 75 such permits valued at a total of about $7 million in 2015.