Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1362682
5 Hartford Business Journal | April 19, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com "The demand is there and we're seeing it and I think it's sustained as well, but you still don't want to get ahead of yourself," he added. While Connecticut single-family home sales volume has nearly doubled from a recent low of just over 21,000 transactions in 2011, home construction permit activity has risen by just under 48% over that same period, and permit volume is down significantly from the years leading up to the Great Recession as well as from prior decades' peaks, according to data published by the Warren Group and U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. "It's just the economy of Connecticut and the increasing spending and taxes and people moving out," LaCava said. "It won't change until we really get our state economic situation under control and businesses find it attractive to be here." Not sitting it out While builders have been frustrated by high materials costs and other challenges, federal housing permit data compiled and published by the St. Louis Federal Reserve shows that Connecticut home construction activity in 2020 was at its highest levels since 2008. Seasonally unadjusted single- family building permits in Connecticut last year totaled 3,042, up more than 17% from 2019 and about level with 2008 totals. The permit peaks in the 2000s and 1990s were 9,139 (in 2004) and 9,578 (in 1998), respectively, according to the St. Louis Fed. "Almost every builder that I've spoken to is as busy as they've been in a long time," said Elizabeth Koiva, president of the Home Builders & Remodelers Association of Central Connecticut and owner of Tolland- based Nordic Builders, which focuses on custom homes. No matter how well the COVID-19 vaccines perform, Koiva suspects there will be a permanent shift in the number of people working from home over the longer term, and that will continue to drive demand for homes and dictate elements that are most desirable within them, including more work spaces. "I think more and more people are realizing they can work at home and their companies are allowing them to work at home," she said. "They want to change their environment." Realtor Bill Arzt, broker/owner of Enfield-based CT Hometown Realty, said he's noticed, at least in his northern Hartford County turf, an uptick in subdivision builders willing to start more spec homes following an increase in sales lately. New homes tend to sell more quickly than existing homes, though dwellings in each category are spending far less time on the market now, he said. Across the country, 2020 was the strongest year for sales of newly- built homes since 2006, according to a recent report from Zillow. "If we could get more new construction that would help us," said Arzt, who has approximately 50 full-time and part-time agents in his shop. He's sympathetic to the fact that many builders are uncertain about ramping up their pipelines. "The larger builders that have things in their pipeline are going to be OK," he said. "Where it's tough is those smaller builders who rely on buying a parcel and subdividing it, or buying a couple of approved lots and building on them. Even the lots are going for a premium right now." He can also only guess how long the single-family market will remain hot, though he's convinced 2021 will see more new homes built than 2020 did. "You can talk to 10 people and get 10 different opinions," he said. "No one really knows, you just have to ride the wave." DEAL WATCH Andreas Kapetanopoulos Month Softwood price index April, 2020 212.3 May 222.5 June 245.8 July 271.1 Aug. 316.9 Sept. 398.9 Oct. 364.8 Nov. 299.1 Dec. 335.7 Jan., 2021 382.7 Feb. 412.9 March 441 Source: Data compiled by Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' producer price index Softwood prices soar amid pandemic The price of softwood has doubled over the past year making it more expensive to build new homes in the state. Let us help get your people back to work! h t t p : //o f f e r. g o e n c o n . c o m / h b j 1 2 6 5 W o o d e n d R d , S t r a t f o r d , C T 0 6 6 1 5 | 2 0 3 - 6 8 3 - 4 9 9 8 The CDC states that a building's heating, ventilation & air system is the main way to fi ght indoor air contamination. Is your system up to the task? For over 50 years, we have helped to improve indoor air quality in businesses throughout Connecticut. We can help you too.