By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

ALABASTER – The city’s commercial building market saw a strong month in May, while the city’s number of new homes continues to lag behind last year’s numbers, according to the most recent data released by the Alabaster Fire Department’s Planning and Safety Division.

City Council members reviewed the numbers during their June 25 meeting.

In May, the city issued permits for two new homes for projects valued at a total of $522,884, bringing the year-to-date total of new homes at the end of May to 20 for projects valued at a total of about $5.9 million.

In comparison, the city had issued a total of 32 such permits last year for projects valued at a total of a little more than $8 million.

The residential addition and remodel market is on-par with last year’s numbers, while the value of the projects has risen slightly.

Through the end of May, the city had issued a total of 116 residential addition or remodel permits for projects valued at a total of about $2.2 million, compared to 118 such permits for projects valued at a total of about $1.9 million during the same time period last year.

In May, the city issued permits for three new commercial buildings for projects valued at a total of about $3.1 million, bringing the year-to-date total at the end of May to five permits for projects valued at a total of about $4.7 million.

During the first five months of 2017, the city had issued permits for eight new commercial buildings for projects valued at a total of about $4 million.

The commercial addition and remodel market remains significantly stronger than last year, as the city had issued 18 permits for projects valued at a total of about $4.3 million at the end of May. During the same time period last year, Alabaster had issued 19 such permits for projects valued at a total of about $1.6 million.