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Kings County new housing construction is 'booming'
Posted 5/19/2016 by Eman ShurbajiKings County new housing construction is 'booming'
Eman Shurbaji Staff Reporter
May 18, 2016
At the end of March, Hanford had 92 homes under construction, compared to 55 last year.
HANFORD — Kings County home building activity has reached its highest level in four years, according to reports by the city of Hanford and Metro Study, a national housing research firm.
Home building activity is picking up after new housing construction started to decline in 2007, and reached a low in 2012.
In March 2012, Kings County had 100 annual starts, or homes under construction. This year, that number is 328 homes.
Melody Haigh, senior planner at the city of Hanford, said there’s a “positive trend” in housing development, and applications for building permits have gone up over the past few years.
“We’ve had tentative tract developers come through and apply for permits and those have been approved [by the Planning Division],” she said.
A tentative map shows the division of land, as well as design of the housing lots and accompanying streets.
In light of Kings’ improving economy and population growth, the city plans on the construction of 4,832 housing units over the next eight years, according to its recent housing report.
“We’ve had some [developments approved] in south Hanford, in mid-Hanford off Grangeville and 9 ¼ [Avenue], and development continuing off Live Oak,” she said.
At the end of March, Hanford had 92 homes under construction, compared to 55 in March of last year.
“It’s positive in the fact that there’s new home demands, [and] our job growth is stable and drastically improved,” said Greg Gross, director of Metro Study’s Central California market. “Also, in the Central Valley we have people priced out of the Bay Area market.”
Kings County has a higher growth rate in new construction than surrounding counties.
Compared to March 2012, the number of annual starts for Kings County is up 70 percent; Kern County up 60 percent; Fresno County up 43 percent; and Tulare County up 41 percent.
“In your area, people are looking for affordable homes outside of Fresno, so they’re moving to Visalia, or Kings County,” Gross said.
Builders are picking up where they left off after the housing bubble burst, and are vetting people to make sure they can afford the home, Gross said.
People are also moving into existing homes, so homes aren’t left empty or abandoned.
Hanford real estate agent Kimber Regan says people are buying their own homes because interest rates are low, and “a larger percentage of the population is able to qualify” in the area.
“Our local real estate market, including Kings and Tulare counties is booming,” she said, “With the Lemoore NAS expansion, the housing demand for Lemoore and Hanford is at one of the highest demands in years.”
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