April building permits

I just got the April data for residential building permits in the Fredericksburg area from Harvey Gold with the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association. The data show the number of building permits filed for single-family detached homes in Fredericksburg and Caroline, King George, Orange, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties. Building permits are considered a good indicator of future residential construction activity.

There were 84 building permits issued in April for the six-locality area. That figure has increased for two straight months but is significantly down from the April tally in 2006 (268 permits), 2007 (213) and 2008 (111). Fewer permits is bad for builders and their suppliers but it does help control the inventory of homes on the market, which could lead to a swifter housing recovery.

Here is the breakdown of permits issued by locality:

Spotsylvania: 29

Stafford: 28

King George: 12

Caroline: 6

Orange: 5

Fredericksburg: 4

Click here to see the spreadsheet with monthly data going back to 2006. 

And click here to see data from 1997-2006.

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