-October 20,2022-
Residential construction enjoyed a torrid pace during the first half of this year. But new home permits have slowed since and appear to be hitting the brakes as of September. The City of Visalia permitted just 18 new homes in September 2022 compared to 50 in September 2021.
For the year so far, new home building is now down from 2021 by 6% with 490 homes built vs 524 through the first nine months of last year.
Interest rates appear to be a key factor. Wells Fargo is offering a 6.5% mortgage rate this month- double what it was a year ago and driving up the cost of a monthly payment.
The slowdown is affecting existing home sales too, the latest MLS report shows. In September, Visalia recorded 109 sold homes vs 160 in September 2021. Pending listings were lower as well with 117 in September 2022 vs 156 in September 2021.There are more homes on the market in Visalia, the active listing number shows.
Developers in Southern California are doing the same thing with 21 percent fewer permit approvals in the last two months according to reports.
How about multi-family? Visalia developers are still building way more units this year than in the past.So far this year Visalia has permitted 483 apartment units vs 130 over the same period last year.