The U.S. Census Bureau’s report on authorized building permits in Alaska shows the number of new housing projects remained under 1,000 units for the fourth year in a row. In 2011, there were 868 housing units authorized, down from 904 in 2010 and 912 in 2009.
Single-family units accounted for 710 of the permits in 2011. There were 32 duplexes and 12 triplexes or fourplexes. Finally, there were 13 permits for structures with five or more units. These multi-family permits accounted for 114 total housing units.
As can been seen in the graph, new housing activity reached a recent peak in 2003. The chart goes back to 1980 and highlights the extreme housing boom that occurred in the early eighties following the start of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. This was also at a time when Alaska’s population was significantly smaller, so the relative impact of the slowdown in construction after 1983 was more severe.
Less new construction has helped the price of existing homes because there is less competition. A stable job market and income in Alaska has also kept home prices stable here, despite the national recession and housing market bubble felt elsewhere in the country.
It is important to note that many smaller communities in Alaska do not require permits and are not tracked in this information. However, it is a consistent data set of Alaska’s largest cities. Not all of the units permitted are actually built.
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