Cherokee County homebuilders are beginning to see some light, but can't yet say all the clouds have passed.

There were nine new home starts in Cherokee County in August with an average value of $99,890, according to the latest Homebuilder's Association of Cherokee County report, a marked increase from the eight new home starts with an average value of just $53,205 at the same time last year.

Beyond the value of the projects, however, was the fact that the August 2009 totals were the best in the past year.

"We looked back and we have not had more than six new home starts in any given month since last August," the association informed members in the latest report. "So to have nine this August is really good news. It might not mean we are out of the woods yet, but it sure does look like we are beginning to see daylight again."

The association is hoping that new home starts stay at or above eight new home starts per month for the next few months. "That would surely mean our economy locally is on the mend and gaining some momentum," the association reported.

All of the new home starts for August occurred in the county. There were no new home starts in the City of Gaffney for the month.

The largest commercial permit in the city was for a $28,400 facade improvement project at Kimbrell's Furniture, while the largest commercial permit in the county was for a $100,000 shop building at a local real estate business owned by Alan McEntire.

The total value of building permits issued in the City of Gaffney last month was $220,190, a decrease of more than $500,000 from August 2008, while building permits in Cherokee County totaled $1.28 million, a decrease of about $200,000 from August 2008.