Economics Dept: SEMCOG Reports Surprise 82% Surge In Housing Permits

The Southeast Michigan residential construction market posted an unexpected 82 percent gain in new housing units in 2010, according to a report released this week by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.

According to the report, there were a total of 2,902 residential building permits issued for the seven-county region in 2010.

Single-family home construction comprised almost 80 percent of the issued permits, while condominium and apartment development more than doubled the 2009 numbers.

Gains in all sectors of residential construction can be attributed to several factors: developers offering discounts and constructing less-costly homes, for-sale housing stock reduced, government tax credits extended, and the stabilizing of the economy and job losses in the region.

SEMCOG collects residential building permit data monthly from all 233 communities in the region and retains permit data back to 1969. Permit data searchable by year and by county or community can be accessed on the SEMCOG Web site at www.semcog.org/Data/Apps/permits.cfm.

By county, changes range from minus 6 percent in St. Clair County to 167 percent growth in Macomb County. As for the region's two most populous counties, there was 24 percent growth in Wayne County and 102 percent growth in Oakland County.

The top five communities in terms of permits granted were Macomb Township with 329, Novi with 181, Clinton Township with 166, Shelby Township with 165, and Detroit with 153. Lyon Township and Northville Township also saw more than 100 permits, wiht 120 and 114 respectively.

To read the full report in pdf format, visit http://smcg.informz.net/SMCG/data/images/quickfacts2010residentialconstruction.pdf.