NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
August 19, 1999
Housing units authorized for construction in North Dakota totaled 2,974 in 1998. That number represents nearly an 8 percent decrease from 1997. Roughly 43 percent of all 1998 housing permits were for multiple family units, and structures with at least five units accounted for more than one-third of those permits, according to a recent Economic Brief released from the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University.
The number of housing units authorized for construction in North Dakota peaked in 1983 at 4,364 and then slowed into the late 1980s, with a low of 1,512 permits being registered in 1990. But as a decade, the 1990s are showing a general increase in housing permits, says Richard Rathge, data center director.
"This increase is due largely to the low interest rates and modest inflation we have experienced during much of the 90s," Rathge says. "The relatively good economic conditions combined with low unemployment have created a housing surge lasting most of this decade, especially for the larger urban centers within the state."
Meanwhile, the value of new homes has risen sharply--increasing, on average, 41 percent since 1990, Rathge says. The average value of a housing unit authorized for construction (including units in multifamily structures) has risen from $58,000 per unit to nearly $83,000 per unit during the 1990-1998 period.
In 1998, three states (Texas, Florida, and California) each had more than 100,000 housing units authorized for construction. In fact, about a quarter of the nation's new housing permits were authorized last year in those states: Texas (156,729), Florida (148,603) and California (124,035). Rathge says those states, once again, far outdistanced the rest of the nation, including such high-growth states as Georgia (85,401 permits), North Carolina (80,514) and Arizona (63,930).
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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136
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