The third quarter was the best in 2023 for single-family house building permits, according to the Northeast Florida Builders Association.
The association measures permits in Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
There were 3,488 permits issued July through September compared with 3,230 in the second quarter and 2,384 in the first quarter.
That brings the 2023 permitting total to 9,102.
For the same period in 2022, 10,920 had been issued and the year ended with 13,802.
The first and second quarters of last year were strong, but in the second half permitting tapered off and that sluggish trend continued through the first four months of 2023.
The group says that the year before the pandemic, there were 10,345 permits issued. No quarter in 2019 broke the 3,000 permit mark.
In September, 1,212 permits were issued in the four counties.
Clay had 133, up from 92 in August; Duval dropped to 436 from 534 the previous month; Nassau posted 156, up from 66 in August, a 136.36% increase; and St. Johns fell to 507 compared with 666 in August.
National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun released a statement on the nation’s economy:
“The job market continues to crank out jobs in high figures: 336,000 in September and over 4 million more compared to pre-COVID-19 March 2020. It does not mean all is well. The jobs data, however, is considered a lagging indicator as the firms will only make a job cuts decision after having cut costs in other areas. Commercial real estate, in particular, is flashing warning signs. Net leasing on retail and warehouse spaces is slowing. The office sector is continuing to bleed with rising vacancy rates. Community banks, many with exposures to commercial real estate, are watching their balance sheets carefully.”