Building rebounds in Sarasota metro area

Data released this month by the U.S. Census Bureau further illustrates the local economic recovery seen in other recent statistics, and shows a bounce back from a sluggish first quarter in Sarasota and surrounding municipalities.

The number of building permits for single-family homes issued in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area jumped 38% to 416 in April, compared with the same month in 2014, while the number of housing units authorized so far this year increased 10% compared with the same timeframe last year. And local governments issued more than 1,700 overall residential permits so far this year.

All of those figures are the largest they have been since the recession.

"What it means to the industry is people are back to work,” said Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association CEO Jon Mast. “Which is great thing."

More than three quarters of the 541 building permits issued in April, were for single-family homes, while seven permits were for structures with at least five units — that’s the most amount of larger multi-family permits issued in the area in the month of April since the recession. 

April helped buoy the metro area, which saw a 16% drop in single-family permits in the first quarter of 2015 over the previous year.

The average value of of a permit issued last month was roughly $252,000, which was up about 9% over April 2014.

The local metro area outpaced the Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island and Cape Coral-Ft. Myers metro areas to the south in April, both of which had less than 500 total permits issued.

City of Sarasota staff have asked for an additional full-time building inspector to deal with the amount of new development, according to backup material on the agenda for the City Commission's workshop Wednesday.

"It really reflects what we’re hearing from our members,” said Gulf Coast Builders Exchange Executive Director Mary Dougherty-Slapp, whose organization is made up of commercial builders. “Yet, there’s still uncertainty out there."

Last week, the Census Bureau released figures that showed the population in grew 1.6% last year in Sarasota County and 2.7% in Manatee County, both of which were the widest margins of growth since 2010. And the preliminary property values in Sarasota County for next fiscal year show a 7% increase, according to a May 22 email from County Administrator Tom Harmer to commissioners.

Mast cited uncertainty about impact fees in Sarasota and Manatee counties and the availability of capital as factors that could slow the current building trend.

"If the Fed does raise interest rates like it keeps torturing the stock market with, you won’t see continued growth in housing,” Mast said.