Those kind of numbers don’t inspire a lot of confidence, the association’s executive director said.
“We’d probably be happy staying flat during 2011, and I don’t see a turnaround of any significant sort until 2013,” Walt Hibner said.
Ryan Homes “really is the only national builder we have in the area,” Hibner said. “We had as many as 10 national builders before the turndown hit.”
Ryan, based in Reston, Va., does not comment for the media, but is the fourth-largest home builder in the country in total revenue and units built, according to Builder magazine.
During the last building peak, Springboro in Warren County enjoyed the fastest growth, which helped drive total home building in the area to more than 5,000 new units in 2004.
In April 2004, more than 600 new units were built in Montgomery, Greene and Warren counties. In April 2010, about 200 units were built.
“The good news is, if the buyer wants to buy a lot, there’s plenty to choose from, a good variety, and they’re priced about as low as they’re going to be priced,” Hibner said.
Hibner said there are about 1,300 lots available in Montgomery, Greene and Warren counties.
“At the rate we’re building houses right now, that will take us 13 years to get through,” Hibner said.
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