Rebound Year: In 2013, Polk County Recorded 1,776 Single-Family Home Permits

Steve Farmer,construction superintendent for M/I Homes Division, caulks an exterior light fixture at a home under construction on Magneta Loop at the Estates of Auburndale in Auburndale on Wednesday.

LAKELAND | Local home builders slowed their pace in November, but 2013 will still go down as a rebound year for the construction industry.

A total 1,776 single-family home permits have been recorded in Polk County through November, the area's highest sum since 2008, when 2,226 permits were counted. Construction activity is already up more than 37 percent from last year, even with one month to go.

"We've had a real surge. We saw a pretty dramatic pickup, probably starting mid-summer," said Mike Hickman, a Lakeland-based custom home builder. "We'll have at least eight homes in the works for the first quarter (next year)."

Polk recorded 111 home permits in November, five fewer than the year before and down from 154 permits in October. November's total does not include permitting figures for Lakeland, which were unavailable Wednesday.

New home construction has been on a strong uptick this year. Unsold existing homes have been in short supply, and many of Polk's distressed properties have been snapped up by investors and other buyers, which has caused median values to rise and helped stabilize the market.

The county's median sale price for existing single- family homes was $123,950 in October (the latest month available), up 14.5 percent on an annual basis, according to the Florida Realtors organization.

With demand returning, construction has resumed at a number of unfinished subdivisions across Polk. Winter Haven had 29 permits last month, versus 16 a year ago and 19 in October.

The increase "came from Lennar picking back up at Traditions," said Alicia Hurley, a permit technician for the city, referring to the neighborhood off Thompson Nursery Road. Builder D.R. Horton also has been working on new homes in Winter Haven.

"Everybody's picked up a little bit," she said.

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Rebound Year: In 2013, Polk County Recorded 1,776 Single-Family Home Permits