The real estate and building market had a banner year in 1997 and the reasons why are largely twofold - unemployment and mortgage rates are at their lowest levels in years. With 30-year mortgage rates hovering below 7 percent and the local unemployment rate around 2.5 percent, people are working and they are seeing extremely attractive borrowing opportunities for new homes. The most significant change in local construction and real estate in 1997 was the single-family housing market, and Rick Wolf, Alachua County's code enforcement director, has the numbers to prove it. But in the last year we issued 740 permits, the highest we've ever done in a calendar year.
Builders also say they are as busy as they've ever been.
I've never seen rates this good. As a result we've seen two of the best years ever in housing starts. The same economic conditions helped move existing homes off the market at an impressive rate last year. There were 2,120 sales of existing homes in 1997, compared to 1,930 the previous year, according to figures supplied by the Gainesville-Alachua County Association of Realtors. It has certainly been one of the better years we've seen.