Area building permits down 18.3% in November

The past four months have been slow for the area construction industry, with the value of permits issued between August and November by Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren totaling $39.46 million — down more than 26% compared to the 2009 period.

The value of building permits issued during November in Fort Smith, Greenwood and Van Buren totaled $8.091 million, down 18.3% compared to the $9.915 million in the 2009 period.

A more than $30 million decline in permit values for the year in Fort Smith is the primary culprit of the regional decline.

For the first 11 months of 2010, building permit values in Fort Smith total $105.081 million, down 22.5% from the $135.718 million during the same period of 2009.

During November, Fort Smith building permit value totals were $7.688 million, down 9.4% compared to November 2009. However, November 2009 included a $6 million permit value for expansion at St. Gobain’s (formerly Norton Proppants) proppant plant in north Fort Smith.

Also, November marked the first month since December 2007 that the city of Greenwood issued no building permits. In November 2009, the city issued 4 permits for construction valued at $251,435.

Home construction in Fort Smith continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise dreary construction sector.

The city issued 15 new residential permits during November with a value of $4.037 million, up more than 344% compared to the eight permits valued at $907,950 in November 2009.

The new home construction sector in Fort Smith has been hot for most of the year. Following are comparative new home construction permit values between March and October.
• October 2010: $2.73 million, compared to $3.239 million in October 2009
• September 2010: $3.436 million, compared to $3.109 million in September 2009
• August 2010: $2.923 million, compared to $2.092 million in August 2009
• July 2010: $1.878 million, compared to $2.425 million in July 2009
• June 2010: $5.159 million, compared to $2.261 million in June 2009
• May 2010: $4.789 million compared to $1.716 million in May 2009
• April 2010: $4.51 million compared to $4.49 million in April 2009
• March 2010: $5.976 million compared to $2.02 million in March 2009

Permit values in Van Buren during November totaled $403,220, down 65.6% compared to November 2009. New residential construction has slowed in Van Buren, with November showing $133,000 in residential construction permit values compared to $729,000 in November 2009.

The lower permit values also resulted in a downgrade in the housing sector’s grade as a leading indicator in The Compass Report. According to the third quarter 2010 The Compass Report: “The total value of permits issued in the third quarter (measured in a three-month rolling average) were lower than those in the third quarter of 2009 — reversing what has been a positive trend in the sector. The grade in this measurement fell from an A in the second quarter to a C- in the third quarter.”