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New Residential Boom Moves To Lehigh Acers Residential boom leaves Cape, heads for Lehigh
75 percent of Lee's single-family permits issued in Lehigh Acres
Originally posted on July 05, 2006 By The Fort Myers News-Press.
The building boom is still going strong in Lehigh Acres, which is a stark contrast to Cape Coral, where activity is cooling off.
Last month, about 75 percent of Lee County's single-family permits were issued in Lehigh.
In fact, building permit activity in Lehigh Acres is still nearly at the same level as it was a year ago when the residential market was red hot.
There is an abundance of vacant lots already zoned for residential use in Lehigh Acres, but a severe lack of commercially zoned property to support the fast-growing community is starting to take its toll. Fortunately, Lee County is in the process of negotiating with a consultant to create a balanced growth plan for Lehigh Acres. This comes at a crucial time for the largest unincorporated area of the county, where having adequate infrastructure in place is critical for development.
While Cape Coral commercial land is in tight supply as well, it is not nearly as scarce as in Lehigh. The main difference for Cape Coral is the decline of new home construction in the city, where building permits have dropped sharply.
"The sheer reason for the shift is affordability," said Patti Schnell, executive director of the Cape Coral Construction Industry Association. "The drop in permits can be mostly attributed to land cost."
The cost of a typical vacant quarter-acre lot in Lehigh Acres tends to be less than half the price for a similar lot in Cape Coral.
Even if a lot has already been acquired, building a new home in Cape Coral will cost an additional $13,000 in impact fees after an increase goes into effect on Sept. 1. Impact fees help pay for roads, utilities, public safety and other essential services for the city.
Schnell said the cooling-off period may provide a nice break for builders who had been working to keep up with unprecedented demand, but if it sustains then jobs are going to be lost and that is a concern for the industry.
"Superintendents used to contact the association and get hired immediately," she said.
"They are not seeing that response now. However, we are still fresh in the baby boomer retirement years so we don't anticipate this being a long-term lull.
"I was very surprised when I saw the recent permit numbers," Schnell said.
"The shift from Cape Coral, Bonita and Estero to Lehigh really shocked me."
Single-family building permits in Cape Coral declined from 439 in April to 323 in May. That's a drop of more than 25 percent. Over the past year, monthly permit activity was typically over 400 and occasionally surpassed 700.
"We forecast a dip that will last about a year to 18 months and then we will start seeing the numbers come back up," Schnell predicted.
Unlike residential construction, the pace of commercial development in Cape Coral is not slowing down.
"Commercial is going strong in the Cape ... very busy," said Schnell.
There is also a lot of commercial remodeling taking place as existing properties are being improved to keep pace with the growing city and newer development.
On a lighter note, demand has picked up substantially for something else in the Cape: swimming pools.
There were 426 new pool permits issued in May, up from 270 permits issued the previous month — an increase of 58 percent.
So while home building in the Cape cools off this summer, at least the residents will too.
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Call me today toll free 1-800-233-8829 (8:30 AM to 5 PM EDT) or 24/7 at 239-565-1712 for information about lots or new construction in Lehigh and Fort Myers, FL. We have new construction listings starting at $249,900.
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