DECEMBER 30, 2015, 3:58 PM LAST UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015, 4:19 PM
BY KATHLEEN LYNN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
The housing industry is on track to build the largest number of homes in New Jersey this year since 2006, with multifamily construction making up a record share of activity.
According to the U.S. Census, builders took out permits for 28,114 New Jersey housing units through November, up 10.5 percent from 2014’s pace and heading toward about 30,000 units with December’s figures yet to come. That’s a big rise from the 13,000 average annual pace from 2009 to 2011, but still below the long-term average of about 37,000 a year.
Multifamily construction has accounted for two thirds of home building through November. That’s the highest share ever seen, on records that date to 1960, according to Patrick O’Keefe, an economist with CohnReznick, an accounting firm with offices in Roseland.
Apartment construction has driven the homebuilding recovery for several years in the state, a dramatic shift away from the suburban, single-family development patterns that shaped New Jersey in the post-World War II period.
Builders are responding to the growing demand for apartments, as homeownership rates fell to their lowest in decades after the housing bust. More households are renting because getting a mortgage has become more difficult since the go-go years of the housing boom, when many unqualified buyers got loans, but ended up losing their homes.
And many young households want to be flexible in case they need to move for a job. Moreover, they are not convinced that buying a home is always a winning investment.
https://www.northjersey.com/news/new-housing-in-n-j-headed-for-best-year-since-2006-1.1482493
