Residential construction activity in this region is approaching pre-recession levels after a half-decade in the doldrums. In the 12 months ending Feb. 29, builders took on $2.3 billion worth of residential construction in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, according to research from McGraw-Hill Construction. The figure represents nearly a 20-percent increase over the same period the previous year.
Rising consumer confidence, accelerating real estate sales volume and low mortgage rates have set the stage for a construction recovery.
Local building departments report an uptick in renovations and new housing starts.
Marshfield has issued 10 permits for new home construction since July 1, a 30 percent increase from the first nine months of the previous year, Building Commissioner Michael Clancy said.
“Contractors are all starting to get a little bit more busy,” Clancy said. “There’s not as many people bidding on the same project.”
Milton has recorded $22 million in building activity since July 1, already well above the $20.6 million that took place in the previous fiscal year that ended June 30. The vast majority of the work consists of residential additions and renovations, Building Commissioner Joseph Prondak said. A handful of teardowns and new home projects also are under way.
Around the South Shore, several major projects that developers put on hold during the housing downturn are finally hitting the market.
Boston developer Samuels Associates expects to complete the first phase of its long-delayed condo complex at the Hingham Shipyard in August.
Construction began last July on the first of three planned buildings. The first phase will include 26 units, 10 of which have already been sold at prices starting around $400,000, said Leslie Cohen, senior vice president of development at Samuels.
“We’re pleased with the activity,” Cohen said. “Consumer confidence is increasing, and there’s not a lot of this product in particular out there: single-level condo living on the waterfront.”
Samuels began marketing the project – which is permitted for up to 94 condos – in 2007 but put the project on hold as the real estate market collapsed.
Once the first building sells out, Samuels hopes to break ground on the second building by the end of the year, Cohen said.
Just a few miles away off Route 3A, Alexandria, Va.-based AvalonBay Communities is building a 220-unit apartment complex called Avalon Cohasset. The project was originally proposed in 2001 but delayed for a decade by permitting hurdles and the housing downturn.
With rental prices in Greater Boston testing all-time highs, many condo developers are marketing their projects as an alternative to apartments. For example, developer Bartley Kelly of Hull recently finished construction of four two-bedroom condos at 301 Nantasket Ave. in Hull and has one unit under agreement. The complex is built at a former abandoned rooming house site that Kelly bought from the town last year. The condos are listed at $300,000 and up.
Accelerating home sales have spurred a building boom at the Pinehills development in Plymouth. The planned community sold 144 homes in 2011, the highest number since 2006, said John Judge, Pinehills’ president.
Prospective buyers are finding it easier to sell their existing homes, Judge said. Home sales statewide have risen in seven of the last eight months compared with the previous year.
“One of the biggest competitors we have are the home that people are in now,” Judge said. “Around the middle of last year, people started to come in saying, ‘My home is under agreement,’ or ‘I’m feeling better about my ability to sell my home.’”
John M. Corcoran Co. of Braintree is nearing completion of 226 apartments in three buildings at SouthField in South Weymouth.
Nearly one-quarter of the units have been leased, with move-ins at the first building expected in early June, said John O’Donnell, a leasing consultant for Corcoran. Rents range from $1,250 for studio apartments to $2,460 for three-bedroom units.
Also at SouthField, Whitman Homes of Canton has completed 12 townhouses and homes, 11 of which are already occupied.
The project’s first phase calls for 26 homes, 22 of which are already sold, Whitman Homes CEO Richard Whittingdon said. The company also has plans for a half-dozen cottage-style homes at the Pinehills this year.
Master-planned developments – projects with multiple developers – such as SouthField and Pinehills are a popular choice with buyers right now, Whittingdon said.
“Consumers think it’s a safe bet. There’s big dollars behind these master-planned communities,” he said.
Steve Adams may be reached at sadams@ledger.com.
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