Colorado Springs home construction jumps again in July

Local homebuilding remained on a hot streak in July.

Last month, the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department issued 319 permits for the construction of single-family homes in Colorado Springs and surrounding El Paso County, according to a report released Wednesday by the agency. That's an 18.6% jump over the same month last year.

Through the first seven months of this year, single-family permits totaled 2,500 or 22% higher than the same period in 2017, according to Regional Building Department figures.

Colorado Springs

With last month's building permit figures, home construction continues to be on pace to reach a 13-year high, based on Regional Building Department reports. Permit totals for the first seven months of this year already have surpassed annual totals from 2007 through 2012.

A healthy local economy, more jobs, low mortgage rates and a low supply of existing homes on the resale side of the market have been credited by builders for the strong pace of homebuilding this year. Representatives of the Housing & Building Association of Colorado Springs have said they expect the strong pace of homebuilding to continue the rest of this year and even until at least 2020.

Homebuilding has been a vital part of the local economy for years, and therefore receives close scrutiny from economists and government officials.

The industry employs thousands of laborers — framers, drywallers, electricians and plumbers. At the same time, Colorado Springs and other local governments collect sales taxes on the purchase of building materials, and those revenues help fund budgets and pay for public safety, parks and other basic services.

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