Development Throughout Ada County Shows Signs of Recovery
Posted on 07-18-2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2012 |
Contact: Jessica Donald
Communications Specialist
208-287-6998
|
Development Throughout Ada County Shows Signs of Recovery
(Boise, ID) – Ada County Development Services indicates that building permit activity is picking up across Ada County, which seems to signify that economic recovery is taking place.
Ada County and each of its six cities have seen an upturn in building permit activity over the last year. Within the first six months of 2012, 1,076 permits for single family dwellings have been issued throughout the county, in comparison to 605 such permits issued during the same period in 2011, an overall increase of 78%.
Meg Leatherman, Director of Ada County Development Services states “The increase in permitting for new construction of single family dwellings is a sign of progress. New development not only creates construction jobs, but a multitude of related jobs as well. These are good signs that our local economy and housing market are starting to recover from the recession.”
According to the Ada County Assessor’s Office, the median sales price and number of homes purchased countywide also went up during the first half of 2012, by 13.2% and 9.4% respectively, showing greater consumer confidence in home-buying compared to the same period last year. On average, homes are also staying on the market for fewer days than they were previously.
“Signs are pointing to market improvement,” said Tim Tallman, Ada County Chief Deputy Assessor. “Property values were on the decline for the past several years, but now that we are seeing a significant increase in activity, hopefully we will see property values follow.”
Development Services staff and county elected officials closely monitor development and housing trends in Ada County, and are optimistic this upward movement will continue.