New home numbers have bright spots

GAINESVILLE - The end-of-the-year numbers of new housing starts last year in Hall County, which we reported a few days ago, seem bleak but one man close to the construction industry here there is a bright side.

"I'm hoping to see some positive results coming the latter part of this year," said Van Neese, executive officer of the Gainesville-Hall County Homebuilders Association.

It doesn't seem that they can get much worse.

Only 180 new home construction permits were issued with an estimated cost of $29.4 million, compared to 302 ($54.9 million) the year before and 998 ($188.4 million) in 2007.

By comparison, 1,333 were issued in 2006, before the bottom fell out of the housing market, with an estimated cost of $279.3 million.

Neese says the reason for the worsening numbers is pretty simple.

"There's a large inventory of foreclosed homes out there that are for sale that, basically, have taken the place of new home construction."

But Van Neese said that can be positive news for home-buyers because the price for new homes has dropped. And he says, the current tax credits for buying a new home make it a very attractive option.

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