Visalia Times-Delta: "New Home Construction On The Rise"
Construction of new homes is on the rise in Visalia and the Southern San Joaquin Valley as the home buying season gets into full swing.
Builders such as San Joaquin Valley Homes, with six new subdivisions, are building in Visalia, Tulare, Hanford and Corcoran and Woodside Homes, with two subdivisions in Visalia and one in Hanford, are busy.
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Bonadelle Neighborhoods are building across from the Visalia Country Club and West Star Construction, Inc. is building in Dinuba.
Everyone of those new home developers cooperate with the Tulare County Association of Realtors (TCAOR) which means any member of the Realtor Association can help you purchase a new home in those subdivisions.
If you prefer a new house now is the time to contact your favorite Realtor and check out the model homes in your favorite subdivision.
There is another interest fact regarding new home construction in the U.S. In the first quarter of 2015 there was a record high in the median size of newly built, single-family homes.
Given the trends in the broader housing market, many economists are predicting a turn toward smaller, affordable homes on the marketplace.
The median size of a home built in the U.S. in the first quarter registered 2,521 square feet, up 76 square feet, or 3 percent, from the fourth quarter, according to the U.S. Commerce Department data released this week. It was the first increase for that measure after three consecutive quarters of decline.
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Robert Dietz, an economist with the National Association of Home Builders, suggests that last quarter's increase is due to a smaller amount of housing construction.
"I think it is due to the fact that the total amount of quarterly single-family construction starts was lower than prior quarters, thus rolling back some of the market expansion that was causing median size to level off," Dietz said.
He added that April's 20.2 percent surge in the pace of U.S. home-construction starts, as well as expected gains in housing construction for the rest of the year should cause size to level off.
Here in the Southern San Joaquin Valley the market has slowly shifter in the past year to allow for the gradual return of entry-level buyers, who tend to buy smaller, less expensive homes.
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Hiring and wages have improved slightly and federal regulators have moved to slightly loosen mortgage-qualification standards and reduce some costs of Federal Housing Administration (FHA) backed loans.
Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Dietz said that contributed to a 7.6 percent increase in the number of construction starts for single-family home in the first four months of the year in comparison to the same period a year ago. It is likely that expanded volume included an increasing number of smaller, less-pricey homes.
Now is the time to call your local Realtor and check it out for yourself.
