Permits for home construction should increase by about 15 to 20 percent by the end of 2012, according to Smart Numbers, a real estate analysis firm. Industry watchers expect the number of monthly permits for the region to reach somewhere between 600 and 700.

1. ATLANTA HOME
BUILDERS SEE THE
LIGHT AT THE END OF
THE TUNNEL
By Stephen F. Been

2. Introduction

Permits for home construction should increase
by about 15 to 20 percent by the end of 2012,
according to Smart Numbers, a real estate
analysis firm. Industry watchers expect the
number of monthly permits for the region to
reach somewhere between 600 and 700.

3. About

Those figures are a fraction of the 5,000 monthly
permits issued during the early 2000s. However, given
the situation of the last several years, the new
numbers have sparked some optimism among local
builders. Most economists and home builders expect
a slow, steady recovery, as opposed to a sharp upturn
in the next year.
At the same time, home prices have continued to
drop. At the beginning of 2012, the average price of a
home in the city stood at $156,676, down from just
over $178,000 a year earlier. Nevertheless, home
builders should remain positive. Confidence in a
recovery will only help.

4. About Stephen F. Been

Stephen F. Been graduated with a degree in
finance from the University of Georgia.
Stephen F. Been is the CEO of Legacy
Communities, a real estate development firm
headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.