Posted on Thu, Jan. 11, 2007

Housing takes slight dip in Harris County
Officials say building permits expected to pick up in the spring
BY HARRY FRANKLIN
State Editor

Dave Woodruff stooped over a heating/air conditioning system last week he’s helping to install in the attic of a house being built in Highland Grove Subdivision in Harris County.

Woodruff, with Quality Air, Valley, Ala., said the company expects to install systems in many houses in the new development off Voorhees Road near U.S. 27 south of Hamilton.

Nearby, Doug Maddox and a crew of Can’t Be Beat Construction of Macon were installing the roof on another house — the eighth house they’ve worked on.

Housing construction just recently began in Highland Grove, where 169 houses are to be built in phases. None are yet complete. It is one of several newer developments expected to help build up the county’s property tax digest this year.

For the first time in more than a decade, the total annual value of single-family houses permitted for construction in the county slipped in 2006 — by more than $4 million. The value topped $100 million for the first time in 2005, reaching $103 million, only to drop to $99 million in 2006.

But Harris County Chief Tax Appraiser Wayne Morris said he doesn’t believe it’s a sign that housing construction numbers will continue to fall. Every month his office adds many completed houses to the tax digest.

Last year, permits to build 430 houses were issued by the county, records show, equaling the 2003 number, but falling below the 437 permits for 2004 and the record 449 for 2005. For the 10 years ending Dec. 31, the county issued about 3,600 permits for single-family houses valued at more than $700 million.

In Columbus, 678 permits were issued in 2006 for single-family houses valued at $77.65 million. The housing values are not comparable to the Harris County figures, because the two governments use different methods of determining the value. Harris County uses a figure of $65 per square foot to determine the value of a new house, while Columbus, since July 1, has used $50 a square foot, according to Kevin Sims, plans examiner for the Columbus Building Inspection and Codes office. Before July, Columbus used a $38-per-square-foot figure. In December, Columbus issued 40 permits for houses with a total value of $5.41 million, records show.

Morris credits the drop in Harris County permits last year to three factors: higher cost of construction materials and land, and higher interest rates.

The yearly valuation was pulled down by lower numbers in the four months of 2006, with the lowest monthly value for permitted houses dipping to $4.09 million in December, the lowest monthly figure since values hit $3.86 million in November 2004.

The average value for a new house remained high at $230,274 in 2006.

The county requirement not to allow houses on less than two-acre lots has impacted construction as the cost of land climbs, Morris said. He estimates the average two-acre lot in Harris County costs $40,000-$45,000. In more exclusive subdivisions such as Gray Rock Subdivision off Gray Rock Road and Piedmont Subdivision off Hopewell Church Road, lots may be substantially larger and land prices much higher.

“It still amazes me as houses continue to rise in value,” said Morris. “We get homes almost weekly that sell for more than $500,000. We have houses under construction with 12,825 square feet overall and 14,046 square feet overall.”

He said he has also been surprised to find that some residents buying new houses will live there a year or two and sell the house at $30,000-$40,000 more than they paid for it.

Morris said housing permits typically slow down in the winter months, generally picking up in February and March as spring approaches and sales perk up.

“I expect an increase in housing permits because of a couple of large developments coming on line, including one at Callaway Gardens. Housing construction is under way in Highland Grove. I understand they are close to beginning work on commercial development,” said Morris.

A drive through Gray Rock Subdivision near the Harris-Muscogee County line, developed by W.C. Bradley Co. Real Estate, shows that lot after lot is marked as sold. Many houses there already are occupied.

Tim Holmes is project supervisor for Cottonwood Land Corp. of Warner Robins, Ga., which has 10 houses under construction in Highland Grove Subdivision.

“We’ll have another 12 houses under construction in about two weeks,” he said. “Our first house will be ready for inspection in about two weeks and eight should be ready this month.”

These houses, each on two-acre-plus lots, will sell for $320,000-$380,000 apiece, he said, and will be on septic tanks. Later, the company will build on half-acre lots served by an on-site treatment plant. They are expected to sell in the low-to-mid-$200,000 range, Holmes said.

Large houses continue to be the rule, county records show. The average size of a house permitted in 2006 was 3,397 square feet. The largest was 6,632 square feet; the smallest, 1,469 square feet.

Houses with 6,000 or more square feet are no longer uncommon. Tax records show that at least 10 houses, including land, are worth more than $1 million each. Five houses, not including land, are listed with a fair market value of more than $1 million. That number could rise in the next 1 1/2 years as the assessor’s office completes a revaluation of property in the county, Morris said.

During the 10-year period from 1997-2006, the county permitted more than 3,600 houses valued at more than $706 million. The average cost of a new house during that period exceeded $196,000.