Building permits issued for single-family and multifamily homes this year are up from 2013 so far and are expected to be at a peak since 2011.
In 2013, 34 single-family homes were given permits and built in Hollister, along with five multifamily units.
So far in 2014 through less than three months, the city planning department has approved 17 single-family permits. In addition to those, 55 single-family units are being built at Hacienda Square. If finished by the end of the year, those will be added to the list, said Jill Morales, a planner for the city.
“In the next couple of months, we should see some construction,” she said.
In 2011, 64 single-family homes were built, in addition to 104 multifamily units that came from two affordable housing projects built at Gateway Palms and Vista Meadows apartments.
While numbers so far in 2014 were not available in county jurisdiction, single-family and multifamily units were expected to pick up compared with 2013, said Byron Turner, the assistant planning director for San Benito County.
In 2013, 22 permits were issued, compared with four in 2012.
“We had almost nothing, but now it’s starting to pick up,” he said.
He attributed it to the improving economy. In January, the county’s non-adjusted jobless rate was 12.6 percent, compared with 15.4 percent the year before.
“They’re starting to build again,” Turner said.
