The Washington region’s home construction industry is faring better than national builders but isn’t rebounding as steadily as existing house prices. The spike in foreclosures created a glut of houses on the market that economists say will take years to work through. That increased supply, along with low demand, left little room for home construction.
But John Kortecamp, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Maryland, said the region’s quicker pace of recovery has helped area builders.
“We’ve had good job growth and we’ve got one of highest median [household] incomes in the country,” he said. “We’ve weathered this very well compared to other parts of country. Most economists think we’ll be moving out aggressively in 2012 and ’13 and beyond.”
In markets where new homes are priced competitively with existing homes, builders are busy. In the relatively new Loudoun County community of Brambleton, last year was the biggest yet for new home sales.
According to Joe Doman, a real estate agent familiar with the area, 355 new homes went under contract in 2010. And 2011 is looking even hotter so far with more than 50 new homes landing contracts in both January and February, and on pace to do the same this month.
But Kortecamp noted today’s new homes are not the McMansions of the mid-2000s. Demand today is for smaller (read: more affordable) homes near town centers or convenient to retail. Demand for new apartment construction also is increasing, he said. – Liz Farmer
