The value of building permits in some areas of New Mexico has risen, but home construction is still considered slow as sales of residential properties, including townhouse foreclosures, showed no significant improvement. However, home builders stated that the market for new homes is looking up.
The effect of foreclosed homes in Albuquerque and in the rest of the state is still being felt by home builders. In Las Cruces, the value of building permits that were issued last month has increased, but builders stated that this does not mean that construction activity has picked up. For January 2011, the total value of permits issued reached almost $16.3 million, a value that is higher by $5.5 million than what was recorded in January 2010.
The total value of permits recorded in January of last year was $10.9 million for 214 permits. Despite foreclosed homes in New Mexico reaching a very high total during that time, the period still recorded a higher number of permits than the January 2011 total of 167. Builders explain that the value is higher this January despite a lower number of permits because some of the permits issued were for big projects like the construction of Holiday Inn Express and a fire suppression system.
Overall, builders in the city stated that the home construction has remained slow, mainly because of the considerable supplies of low-priced foreclosed properties like townhouse foreclosures. They also attributed the almost flat activity in the home construction market to high unemployment, tight lending standards, and lukewarm sales in the housing sector.
Home builders also stated that the current market is highly favorable to buyers, with homes in foreclosure and other cheap dwellings still available in abundance and interest rates maintaining their low levels. Although getting loans might be challenging, builders encourage homebuyers to give it a try and take advantage of the low home prices and interest rates.
Builders also believe that the home construction sector has good prospects in 2011 despite the continuous flow of residential and townhouse foreclosures into the market. They stated that demand for housing will likely increase in the coming months and, with costs of materials relatively low, home building will likely pick up during the year.
John Cutts has been educated in the finer points of the foreclosure market over 5 years.
Notice: In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that RealEstateProArticles.com has financial relationships with some companies and may be compensated if consumers choose to buy, subscribe or take any action to a product or service via the links on our website. Occasionally, we receive free access to review a product or service. We do not accept compensation in exchange for a positive review. These reviews are strictly the opinions of the author.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.realestateproarticles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites