Home building permits decline

GAINESVILLE - There was a big decline in the number of permits for new homes issued in Hall County last month.

Hall County Building Inspection Services reports issuing only 66 permits in September for new, single-family homes. A year ago, 108 were issued and in August, the total was 137.

However, the head of the department, Lamar Carver, doesn't think it means a slowing in the housing market here. Carver says there are a lot of big projects "out there" and builders will sometimes pick up only a handful of permits at a time. And, he says there are other factors that probably contributed to the drop-off last month, nothing significant, however. Carver says it just the nature of the business - where you are going to have peaks and valleys. (As reported in a separate story elsewhere on this site, at least 141 new homes are on the drawing board in North Hall alone and are to be considered by the Hall County Planning Commission Oct. 16.)

In the City of Gainesville, new housing starts held their own in September, when 16 permits were issued. Twenty were approved in August in the city.

In all, more than $18 million worth of construction permits of all kinds were issued for unincorporated parts of the county during September

In the city, overall, that number totals $15.3 million.