VANDERBURGH CO., IN (WFIE) -
More new homes are going up in Vanderburgh County this year than last year which is another sign the local economy is on the right track.
More homes are being built this year. It's not a huge jump, about 25%, but it's the biggest increase in new housing starts this area has seen in years.
"Financing is the key. We have to get a way to unlock the financing puzzle for the whole country," said Bill Pedtke, the Executive Director of the Southwestern Indiana Builders Association.
212 is the number of new home permits issued in Vanderburgh County through August of this year. 62 more than in 2011.
"The good news is that it has stopped getting worse and it has started getting better," Pedtke said.
Pedtke says while that number is encouraging, it's still far below the 5 to 600 new home starts, averaged per year, before the housing collapse began in 2007.
"The orange is where I say, that's where building companies do well. They hire more people. They don't let people go," Pedtke said. "Below that line is when they start laying people off."
But Pedtke says the increase is a step in the right direction.
"The important part about new housing is that as soon as somebody decides, yes, I want that house built. They sign a contract with the builder, almost the next day the builder's going to call and get his permits and start digging a hole, put people to work almost the very next day so it's a very fast impact on our local economy," Pedtke said. "The ripple effect from new housing is just incredible. We have to get that engine going."
Pedtke is hoping new home starts will reach the 250 mark by the end of the year.
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212 is the number of new home permits issued in Vanderburgh County through August of this year. 62 more than in 2011.
