The Lerew brothers, Wake Forest Brokers and Realtors, Serving Wake Forest and surrounding communities and counties are excited to share the following article from the North Raleigh News.

 

The Lerew Brothers, Wake Forest, North Carolina, Brokers and Realtors are cautiously optimistic as this article shows that activity is on the rise and we are moving forward with a positive momentum.

 

The article was written and posted on Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2011

 

Title – “Building permits surge in Wake Forest”  Single-family residential permits were up 86% in 2010.

 

Written by Chelsea Kellner – Staff Writer

After hitting a 14-year low in 2009, Wake Forest saw an unexpected boom in the number of new residential building permits issued last year – nearly twice as many as the year before.

“It means a lot for us, because it shows that people are starting to build again,” said Chad Sary, assistant planning director. “It shows that we are still growing, even in the recession.”

That increase is mirrored by the area overall. December numbers are not yet available, and building levels vary by month and by community, but Wake County saw more than 300 more new residential building permits issued from January through November 2010 than in those months in 2009.

Officials are cautious about speculating on the cause of the uptick.

In Wake Forest, buyers and builders are learning to work within the new economy, Sary said, with homes being built to order rather than on a speculative basis.

Suzanne Harris, vice president of governmental affairs for the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County, sees a mood of cautious optimism among builders, though development is unlikely to see a significant recovery until lending for buyers picks back up.

“Obviously everyone was hoping things would be farther along than they are now, but I don’t think anyone foresees it getting any worse,” Harris said.

Officials warn against reading too much into building permit numbers, however.

“The numbers only mean what they are,” said Russ Overton, inspections and permits director for the town of Cary. “It’s a current indicator of what’s going on at the time, not a predictor of any sort.”

In Cary, 2010 single-family residential building permit numbers were down 93 from 2009 – but that’s not necessarily a bad sign, Overton said.

The most important factor to consider is new development plans.

“What’s changed is that people are not building as many new houses, but we probably have more than ever building on existing houses,” Overton said.

In Wake Forest, the town issued just 212 permits in 2009. That grew to 394 in 2010.

That’s nowhere near the numbers at the height of the boom in 2005, when town officials issued more than 1,000 residential building permits.

However, 2010′s numbers are nearly equal to the 399 permits issued in 2000 at the midpoint of Wake Forest’s two-decade population explosion – when the town had already doubled its number of residents and was gearing up to do so again.

Sary doesn’t expect numbers to return to pre-recession levels soon, if ever. But it’s the first reversal of a five-year downward trend.

Many of the new permits are being issued to finish filling up developments approved by the Town Council years ago. The town has close to 3,000 potential units that have not started construction, Sary said.

The area seeing the largest amount of growth – 226 permits, more than half the total – is the Heritage neighborhood in the southeast section of town.

The largest number of those permits went to Terramor Homes, which has been building there since January 2009.

The company chose to begin building there despite the recession after pinpointing Wake Forest as a location likely to do well through the downturn, with its combination of amenities and small-town feel, Chief Operation Officer Michelle Simms said.

In contrast to the residential boost, nonresidential building permits saw only a modest increase, from 78 in 2009 to 88 in 2010.

The important thing is the kinds of nonresidential construction taking place, Sary said. Larger grocery stores, including the town’s second Harris Teeter, and national chains like The Olive Garden signal continued expansion, are a reason to hope.

“They’re not going to build for no reason – when they build stores, they’ve done their homework and anticipate from market studies that they’re going to get customers,” Sary said.

Sary predicts a slow comeback for Wake Forest.

He’s not sure it will ever return to the way things were several years ago – and he sees that as a good thing.

“You don’t want to overbuild,” Sary said. “You want to do things sustainably.”

For more information about this article or community information, contact Scott Lerew, Lerew Brothers Wake forest Broker and Realtor at (919) 435-4320

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