Home building in Southwest Florida is on the mend
After the worst year in the home building business since the Great Depression, Southwest Florida builders and their subcontractors are getting busy again.
Builders in Manatee County are firing up their cement mixers and nail guns the fastest. But other parts of the region — including hard-hit North Port — also are beginning to see an uptick in both permits and sales.
Permits in Manatee County more than doubled in the first three months of the year — 283 this year compared with 132 during the same period a year earlier, according to county government records. Sarasota County and North Port also saw rapid growth.
Only Charlotte County continues to struggle, with permit activity rising and then falling again in monthly intervals.