Lee, Cape permits reach record

Builder says roofing supplies running low

By Dick Hogan
Published on April 6, 2005

Permits for single-family homes soared to record levels in March for both unincorporated Lee County and Cape Coral, according to figures released Tuesday.
In unincorporated Lee County, which includes Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs, 865 permits were issued — beating the record set in February of 782.

Cape Coral had 858 single-family permits in March, beating the record of 601 set in January.
A year earlier, 570 permits were issued in unincorporated Lee County and 400 in the Cape.

Complete dollar figures weren't available Tuesday. Complete figures weren't available for the city of Fort Myers.
"We're busy," said Fred Hermann, president of First Home Builders, the area's largest home builder with an emphasis on moderately priced houses in Cape Coral and Lehigh Acres.

Those are the two hottest areas for construction, he said. "It's pretty even. Sometimes we think Lehigh is moving faster and then we sell more in the Cape."

First Home is pulling permits at a record pace of about 300 a month countywide, Hermann said. "We're pretty much leveling off around that number; we feel like that's a manageable number."
The company is dealing with the huge demand for homes by focusing more on people buying a house for themselves, he said. "If someone is wanting to live in the house himself, we're working with them much more diligently than if someone wants to be an investor."

That's because the people buying their own homes are the core of the company's business, he said. "We want to provide those people with the chance to buy a first home."
As demand surges, he said, it's hard to find the supplies to keep building. "We continue to have a very strong labor force here but it's the material shortages — every day it's a new battle about something."

In particularly short supply, Hermann said, are roofing supplies. "With all the hurricane damage repair work, we really have to stay on top of things and make sure we have enough."

Mary Gibbs, director of the county Department of Community Development, said, "We're holding up, barely," when it comes to keeping up with permitting and inspections.
A single-family-home permit takes 16 days to process, for example, although the department's goal is seven days.
The county commission last month voted to hire 23 full-time and four part-time positions for the department, which has more than 230 employees. "We're rushing to get the positions filled," Gibbs said.

It's hard to forecast the future, she said, "But it's hard to imagine you could do over 800 (permits a month) for a long period of time."