The rousing rebound in the local housing market has continued for another month.

Based on the monthly report from the Home Builders Association of Cherokee County, new housing starts jumped from six in May 2009 to nine in May of this year.

For the year, new home starts are up a stunning 15 (36-21) from the same 5- month period in 2009.

Looking back further, though, the news isn’t as rosy. There were 42 new home starts from January to May of 2008 and 46 new home starts over comparable months in 2007.

The average value of the new homes in May dropped about $16,000 from the average home price of $128,480 in May 2009.

The housing news in the city remains gloomy, with no new homes starts in May. In fact, there has been only one new home start in the city this year.

The largest commercial permit issued by the city in May was for renovations to an outlet mall store, valued at $89,000.

A permit issued for $650,000 for DCAS Properties on Wilcox Avenue was the highest-dollar commercial permit issued by the county last month.