Area homebuilders are bullish

Barclay Allen is a medium-sized builder of custom homes in the Fort Wayne area. The company of which hes president, Timberlin Homes, doesnt build hundreds of houses every year its more like 20 to 25, he says.

But, standing on the back porch of a home the company just built for this years Parade of Homes & Lifestyle Show in the Forest of Foxwood addition in northeast Fort Wayne, hes a happy man.

This year, the company has seen an increase in sales and plenty of orders. Ive got people looking to build two or three years out, as well as currently, Allen says. I think it (the market) is looking very good. I would say Im encouraged.

After several years of bad news, those who provide new homes for area residents have, for the most part, regained optimism from the slow climb out of the doldrums.

Since 2010, says Dave Fuller, Allen County Building Department commissioner, building permits for new homes generally have been trending higher, and affordability has remained strong, compared with the situation in other markets.

In 2009, Fuller says, a low of 390 permits were issued through Aug. 18. By 2011, that number was 419 permits during the same time frame and by 2012, 444. Last year, the number rose to 529.

This year, permits are down again, to 466, a 12 percent drop. But Fuller says he attributes that to the prolonged cold winter, which delayed the building season, and not an economic slump. He believes the numbers will catch up by years end, despite news this month that nationally, sales of new homes fell in July by 2.4 percent.

In any case, Fuller says, the numbers now represent a more sustainable situation.

Current housing starts are dwarfed by the boom years of 2006 and 2007, when about 1,900 homes were being built, Fuller says. We were overbuilding tremendously there, he says, noting the overheated atmosphere was fueled by lower-end volume builders. Some of them have gone out of business, and the overstock has been largely sold through, Fuller says.

He says the area can easily support 800 to 900 new homes a year.

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Area homebuilders are bullish