-March 28,2020-
So how is the coronavirus affecting a top local industry – home building?
Figures from Construction Monitor show both on the Central Coast and in the SJ Valley – new home permits through March 28 are down by about half compared to March 2019
In San Luis Obispo some 30 single family home permits were issued in March 2020 compared to 56 in March of last year.
In the Valley the four-county area covered by Construction Monitor shows a slowdown this year as well with 157 new home permits issued this March in Fresno,Madera,Kings and Tulare Counties compared to 322 in march 2019.
The slowdown may be viewed as more severe considering the four-county area was on an uptick through January and February 2020 with permits numbering near 900 for the first two months of 2020 compared to 619 for the for the same months in 2019.
Here are the top 10 home builders in Tulare County so far this year The coronavirus may have slowed construction schedules due to consumer hesitance but this week mortgage rates offered some better news.This past week rates fell.Yahoo News reports that “ U.S. mortgage rates fell for the first time in three weeks. But for would-be homebuyers frozen in fear of an economic meltdown, borrowing costs are no longer a prime concern. The average rate for a 30-year fixed loan was 3.5%, down from 3.65% last week, Freddie Mac said in a statement Thursday.
Americans hunkering down in coronavirus quarantine are in no mood to shop for homes. Even if they can buy, many worry about how bad the coming recession will be, and how long it will last. A total of 3.28 million people sought unemployment benefits in the week ended March 21, the most in government data going back to 1967.
In an early sign of slipping demand, a index of applications for home-purchase loans tumbled 15% last week to its lowest level since August, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Meanwhile one of the busier builders in Visalia -San Joaquin Valley Homes continues their plans for more subdivisions in town requesting a hearing on a 19 acre project just south of WinCo and Caldwell Ave at Demaree requiring a zone change from the city on land owned by the Christian Reformed Church planted to trees now. Here is map of the property.
