No new home starts here last month

There was no celebration following this record - especially by local homebuilders.

There were no new home starts in the city or county in October, representing a first for the home building sector.

The news is even more alarming when contrasted with the 12 new home starts in the county in October 2007. With October's housing figures in the mix, the county is down 29 home starts from the same period a year ago.

The county building department did issue a permit for a multi-family duplex in October valued at $103,620.

The largest commercial permit issued by the county in October was for a Grassy Pond Water Company warehouse valued at $80,000. A permit in the amount of $134,000 for grading/ site preparation at Central Baptist Church was the largest commercial permit issued by the city.

The mobile home sector slowed again last month with 18 permits. Of that total, seven were for new units and 11 were for relocating existing mobile homes. In October 2007, the county issued 29 mobile home permits.

September also registered a drop in mobile home permits as compared with a year ago.