First Quarter Metro Housing Starts Slow

Although permit volume throughout the nation grew 0.8% during the first three months of this year, only nine of the top 25 metropolitan areas in 2001 recorded gains during the first quarter of 2002 when compared with January-March 2001. Atlanta registered 63% more permits than any other metro area in the United States, but the city's volume through three months of this year was running 7.4% behind the first-quarter 2001 level.

Among the largest home building markets of 2001 (as measured by the combined volume of single-family and multifamily permitted construction), Minneapolis (+24.3%), Houston (+21.0%) and Sacramento, Calif. (+16.2%) were the quickest out of the gate in 2002. The major metro areas recording the steepest declines in permit volume during the first three months of this year were Los Angeles (-49.5%), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (-36.7%), Seattle (-26.9%) and New York (-24.6%).

However, permit volume has risen this year in a number of industrial-based metro markets: Milwaukee (+28.0%), Baltimore (+14.3%), St. Louis (+6.6%), Philadelphia (+4.7%) and Cincinnati (+3.2%). And permit volume doubled or tripled from year-ago levels during the first quarter of 2002 in a few cities, including Des Moines, Iowa, Fayetteville and Fort Pierce, Fla. Florida's metro markets almost without exception recorded strong gains during the first three months. In addition to the increases registered in Tampa, Orlando and Fort Pierce, other areas showing home construction momentum to be building included Melbourne (+65.8%), Daytona Beach (+56.0%), Naples (+49.2%), Sarasota-Bradenton (+19.4%) and West Palm Beach-Boca Raton (+13.0%).