The Richmond area is expected to be among the healthiest new-home markets in the U.S. this year, according to Builder magazine.
Based on a formula using 2009 building-permit data and weighted 2010 projections for household formations, resale values, job growth and income growth, the recently released Builder Market Health Index report put the region at No. 12 on a list of the 20 healthiest markets.
Kevin McNulty, president of the Home Building Association of Richmond, said he was not surprised.
"Richmond traditionally has never gotten as out of whack as some other parts of the country," he said. "We're traditionally a more stable market, and therefore usually a little sooner to recover."
Projecting a building-permit increase of almost 300 (about 10 percent) for 2010, the report notes that the median price of a home in the area -- $198,000 -- fell only 5 percent last year.
The region, which boasted a below-average unemployment rate of 8.4 percent at the end of 2009, "is poised to start adding jobs again," the report says.
The Washington, D.C.-Arlington County-Alexandria area was eighth on the list, largely because of a low unemployment rate and high median income. Building permits there are expected to increase 25 percent this year. The Austin-Round Rock, Texas, area was at the top of the list.
Contact Wesley P. Hester at (804) 649-6976 or whester@timesdispatch.com.
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