Construction of new homes in Harford County continued to slide in 2014 and, after the first two months, 2015 is looking even worse, according to county statistics.
Reports on new construction and permit activity are issued by the Harford County Department of Planning and Zoning each month, and the report for 2014 shows 153 permits were issued for construction of single-family homes that year, compared to 224 permits during 2013 and 240 permits during 2012.
The data also shows that 191 permits were issued for townhouse or multiplex dwellings in 2014, compared to 158 in 2013 and 183 in 2012.
The report for January 2015 indicates that five permits were issued for single-family dwellings and no permits were issued for any other type of residential construction. For February, six single-family permits were issued, along with three for townhouses and multiplex housing and seven shell permits for condos.
"I think what encourages more home building is more home buying," Bradley Killian, Harford County's director of planning and zoning, said Tuesday. "The market just has not rebounded as strongly as people have anticipated."
Local officials are feeling the impact of national economic factors, such as lending restrictions and unemployment, that have kept the recovery of the national housing market sluggish.
Killian said officials in Harford County are trying to "maintain aspects of the way we conduct business and the way we do develop."
He noted local leaders must work to maintain Harford's quality of life, attract new jobs and maintain quality schools to attract home buyers.
"That's what you've always wanted to do, but those things, I think, become increasingly important in a tighter market," Killian explained.
Killian became Harford's planning and zoning director several months ago after the county executive's office changed hands following the November 2014 election. He previously worked as a planning supervisor in Howard County's Department of Planning and Zoning.
He noted that there have been "very localized areas that have demand" for new housing in the region, such as a recent surge in residential development along Route 1 in Howard County.
"They have the advantage of being close to [Washington] D.C., as well as Baltimore markets," Killian said of Howard County.
He noted there has been a "tightening" in development of single-family homes in Howard, but a surge in apartment growth, which has also taken place in recent years in Harford County.
"Once single-family evaporated, the apartments got strong for a while, and how much longer that may continue, that may be questionable as well," Killian said.
Bad news for municipalities
Home building in the county's municipalities is also sluggish, based on the number of permits issued for new dwellings.
Municipal and county officials are developing a variety of strategies to spur development, such as ordinances to lower water and sewer capital cost recovery fees in Havre de Grace.
Neal Mills, that city's planning director, noted several nationwide factors that are, however, out of the control of local leaders.
Mills said financial institutions have "tightened considerably" their qualifications for providing a home loan following the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007 and 2008, and he also cited the overall sluggish national economy, plus the high unemployment of recent years, meaning many people did not have the money to purchase a house.
Havre de Grace issued 12 permits to build single-family homes during the first six months of fiscal 2015, and the city issued 10 single-family permits during the first half of fiscal 2014, Mills said Monday.
"During the time of 2005 to 2007, 2008, we were looking at about 125 to 150 annually," he said.
Mills said the city issued 34 permits for new homes during all of fiscal 2014.
Mills said members of the Havre de Grace City Council are "considering a lot of options and alternatives, and reduction in the capital cost recovery [fee] is one of the options that they're taking a hard look at right now, and it seems to be spurring some interest from the development community."
The council is reviewing ordinances to lower capital cost recovery fees charged to developers of the Scenic Manor and Greenway Farm communities.
Sluggish market in county seat
Kevin Small, Bel Air's planning director, said 22 permits have been issued for new residential construction in the county seat so far this year.
He noted that only one was for building a single-family home, which is at 110 Wallace St. He said the rest of the permits were for alterations, additions and modifications to homes.
Small said Bel Air has had to deal with a sluggish national housing market, as well as a state and county-imposed moratorium on any growth that would increase water usage while town leaders worked with the county and state, as well as water supplier Maryland American, to find a backup source of water.
The moratorium was lifted during 2014, however, and Small said projects that were "in the pipeline" are proceeding through the development process – permits have not been issued yet, though.
Small said the market for new home construction in Bel Air has been down since 2008.
"Prior to that, it was pretty vigorous," he said.
"Back in 2009, when the comprehensive plan was updated, there were a lot of policies put forward that encouraged residential development, especially in downtown," Small said. "Those were not really allowed to be tested because of the economic downturn."
He expects town officials will revisit those plans and policies as Bel Air's comprehensive plan is updated again in late 2015.
"The downtown, I think, thrives when there's a strong residential component to it," Small said.
The house at 110 Wallace St. is being built by local developer Barry Andrews Homes LLC, owned by husband-and-wife team Barry and Eve Andrews, of Bel Air.
They have built, or are building, nine houses in the town and its outskirts, and they have also built in Fallston, Darlington and Cecil County.
Eve Andrews said their projects typically involve razing an existing house and building a new structure on the lot.
She said the company typically builds about 20 homes each year.
"It's nowhere like the late '90s and 2000s, of course," Andrews said of the home building market. "It's sluggish; you do get inquires, but it's nowhere near as brisk."
She noted Bel Air is attractive to home buyers because of the municipal services offered.
"They like the fact that they can live in the town and walk everywhere," she said.
"We are doing what our passion is," Andrews continued. "At least we're paying our bills, and we're keeping our subcontractors. We're just treading water, just like everyone else."
Growth in Aberdeen
Home building has been brisk, however, in the City of Aberdeen. Phyllis Grover, director of planning and community development, said 29 permits were issued for single-family dwellings during 2013, along with four apartment buildings with 96 units altogether.
Grover said 29 permits were issued for single-family homes in 2014, plus 36 townhouse permits and four apartment building permits, with 104 units.
"We had a couple projects start up in 2013, and then they were full bore in 2014," she said.
There were a variety of projects in the city, such as luxury apartments off Long Drive near Ripken Stadium.
"None of us have the numbers that we had in 2005, 2006," Grover said. "All in all, I'm happy with our numbers, we have growth. We have new construction."