Home construction rising slightly in metro Milwaukee
Home construction in metropolitan Milwaukee is running slightly ahead of last year, and the average value of new homes has risen about 3 percent from 2017, a report tracking building permits shows.
Through November, there were 1,358 home building permits issued in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties, according to MTD Marketing Services of Wisconsin Inc. That compared with 1,340 during the first 11 months of 2017.
The average projected value of homes for which permits were issued this year was $381,264, up from $370,207 a year ago. New-home buyers are paying more for a little less space, the MTD report indicates, with average square feet of space at 2,891 this year compared with 2,926 a year ago.
Among suburban communities seeing the biggest bumps in housing starts through November were New Berlin, Sussex, Summit and Slinger. Municipal officials in New Berlin issued 75 permits this year, up from 28 in the same period in 2017, while Sussex issued 74, compared with 11. In Summit, permits rose to 65 from 9, and in Slinger, 44 permits were taken out, up from 21.
In the metro Milwaukee area, Menomonee Falls had the most home building permits at 86, which was down from 124 in the first 11 months of 2017. Oconomowoc was second, with 82, compared with 57 last year.
While new home construction has grown a little this year, it still lags far behind the pace of the housing boom of the early and mid-2000s. In the first 11 months of 2005, there were 2,492 permits issued for new homes, with an average size of 2,709 square feet and average value of $274,542, according to MTD.
Among Wisconsin’s other mostpopulated areas, new home construction was flat in Dane County, with 1,168 permits compared with 1,167 in 2017, and down almost 18 percent in the Green Bay-Door County area, with 588 permits compared with 716.