Where does Alabaster’s housing market stand?

Published 1:00 pm Thursday, August 31, 2017

 

By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The new home building market in Alabaster continued to lag behind last year at the end of July, but the commercial building and commercial and residential renovation sectors are showing signs of growth.

The Alabaster Fire Department’s Planning and Safety Division recently released its year-to-date permit numbers as of the end of July, and the City Council reviewed them during its Aug. 28 meeting.

In July, the city issued eight new home permits, bringing the year-to-date total as of July 31 to 43 for projects valued at a total of $11.2 million.

The number of new homes was down significantly from the same time period last year. Through the first seven months of 2016, the city had issued 69 new home permits for projects valued at a total of $16.8 million.

However, Alabaster’s home renovation and remodels were up over last year’s numbers.

As of July 31, the city had issued 159 residential addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of $2.7 million. In comparison, the city had issued 121 such permits during the first seven months of last year for projects valued at a total of $2.1 million.

The commercial sector is also up compared to last year’s numbers, according to the report.

At the end of July, the Planning and Safety Division had issued permits for 10 new commercial buildings for projects valued at a total of more than $5.7 million. During the same time period last year, the city had issued permits for eight new commercial buildings for projects valued at a total of $5.1 million.

While the commercial addition and remodel permit numbers are down compared to last year, the valuation of the projects is up.

Through July of this year, the city had issued a total of 24 commercial addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of more than $2.3 million, compared to 121 such permits last year for projects valued at a total of about $2.2 million.