Residential permits drop by 80%, but nonresidential projects show an 8% increase.
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News / May 15, 2008
Residential building in southeast Michigan fell for a third year in 2007, dropping by as much as 48 percent -- a record low in home construction since the early 1980s, according to data released by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments this week.
And if it wasn't for nonresidential construction holding steady, the state's economy would be a lot worse, the data shows.
"It's mostly institutions, retail, and hospitals that's keeping it going," said Janet Mocadlo, planning analyst for SEMCOG.
With another year of sputtering home construction in 2007, the region logged an 80 percent drop in new housing permits since the housing boom in 2004, which was primarily fueled by low interest rates.
The data was compiled from the seven-county region, which comprises Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Monroe, St. Clair, and Washtenaw.
Canton Township, once a pacesetter in the region in housing construction, with an average of 1,000 permits annually, logged only 68 last year.
"It was like somebody turned off the faucet," said Tom Yack, township supervisor.
Luckily, the construction of box stores and industrial centers on Michigan Avenue is thriving, he said.
"We've got enough in the pipeline to keep our folks busy for the next two years," he said.
While the housing market sputtered, expansions of hotels, hospitals and other commercial ventures has boosted nonresidential construction in the region, which logged an 8 percent increase in 2007 from the previous year.
Leading the area in terms of square footage was Wayne County -- with the new north terminal at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Detroit's refurbished casinos -- and Oakland County with the expansion at Henry Ford Health System in West Bloomfield and St. John's medical campus in Novi.
"We're still the economic engine of the state," said Maureen Krause, Oakland County's deputy director of economic development and community affairs.
The regional data also shows that for a third year, Detroit's loft development makes it the regional leader in residential building, which could echo a national migration back to urban living among younger homebuyers.
"It's going to take a long time for Detroit to turn into a Chicago or New York City, but I think people are becoming more interested in stopping sprawl and preserving green space," Mocadlo said.
Catherine Jun / The Detroit News / May 15, 2008
Residential building in southeast Michigan fell for a third year in 2007, dropping by as much as 48 percent -- a record low in home construction since the early 1980s, according to data released by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments this week.
And if it wasn't for nonresidential construction holding steady, the state's economy would be a lot worse, the data shows.
"It's mostly institutions, retail, and hospitals that's keeping it going," said Janet Mocadlo, planning analyst for SEMCOG.
With another year of sputtering home construction in 2007, the region logged an 80 percent drop in new housing permits since the housing boom in 2004, which was primarily fueled by low interest rates.
The data was compiled from the seven-county region, which comprises Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston, Monroe, St. Clair, and Washtenaw.
Canton Township, once a pacesetter in the region in housing construction, with an average of 1,000 permits annually, logged only 68 last year.
"It was like somebody turned off the faucet," said Tom Yack, township supervisor.
Luckily, the construction of box stores and industrial centers on Michigan Avenue is thriving, he said.
"We've got enough in the pipeline to keep our folks busy for the next two years," he said.
While the housing market sputtered, expansions of hotels, hospitals and other commercial ventures has boosted nonresidential construction in the region, which logged an 8 percent increase in 2007 from the previous year.
Leading the area in terms of square footage was Wayne County -- with the new north terminal at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Detroit's refurbished casinos -- and Oakland County with the expansion at Henry Ford Health System in West Bloomfield and St. John's medical campus in Novi.
"We're still the economic engine of the state," said Maureen Krause, Oakland County's deputy director of economic development and community affairs.
The regional data also shows that for a third year, Detroit's loft development makes it the regional leader in residential building, which could echo a national migration back to urban living among younger homebuyers.
"It's going to take a long time for Detroit to turn into a Chicago or New York City, but I think people are becoming more interested in stopping sprawl and preserving green space," Mocadlo said.
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