Connecticut New Home Construction May Be Gathering Momentum

New home construction so far this year is on a pace to easily surpass residential building in 2011, suggesting that the sector may have bottomed out.

Through the first six months of this year, towns and cities have issued permits for 1,717 single-family houses, condominium and apartment units, according to a new report from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

New home construction in Connecticut in 2012 is well above last year's levels, a trend seen nationally. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.

That’s 37-percent higher than for the same period in 2011, but 4-percent lower than the first six months of 2010, suggesting any recovery may be slow. And the permit activity so far this year is dwarfed by building in 2004 and 2005, which hit 4,600 units each year in the first six months of the year.

In 2012, there have been year-over-year gains in five of six months. June, the latest month covered in the report, rose a modest 4 percent, to 405 from 391.

The DECD’s report is based on the U.S. Census monthly survey of 128 municipalities in Connecticut. Once a year, permit activity in all 169 towns and cities in the state. Typically, the annual surveys have mirrored trends in the monthly tallies.