While it's too soon to tell how the second quarter will be because of the COVID pandemic, the first quarter for home builders statewide was reported as positive news.
The latest single-housing permit numbers show a noteworthy increase in quarter one this year as compared to the same time period in 2019. Wisconsin Builders Association (WBA) Executive Director Brad Boycks says this type of increase reflects well on the economy before the pandemic hit.....
"So I think it was just consumers getting out of the winter months looking more toward spring and starting those project that they may have been holding off on to close out 2019..."
1,613 permits were issued in the first quarter of 2019 compared to 1,941 in the first quarter of this year, about a 20 percent increase. Boycks says the home building industry has long been a marker for economic strength.
"We're just fortunate construction was deemed an essential service by the Safer-At-Home orders. Our supply chain has not been interrupted.."
Although the effects of coronavirus have not all been seen, Boycks says that home construction has been allowed to continue with proper precautions throughout Wisconsin’s Safer at Home Orders.
The Wisconsin Builders Association is a professional trade association comprised of 21 local associations.
