Lawrence home construction up 33 percent in first half of 2013

The buzz you’ve been hearing around Lawrence perhaps has been the hum of a power saw or the steady pounding of a hammer.

With half a year in the books, one of the emerging stories of the Lawrence economy is the solid year local builders are putting together. New numbers from City Hall show builders have started more single-family and duplex homes in 2013 than at any point since the recession. And when it comes to apartment construction, they’re more than doubling their previous pace.

Here’s a quick look at totals through June for three key metrics.

The total value of projects under construction in Lawrence through June is up 52 percent compared to the same period a year ago and up 94 percent compared to the low point of 2009.

• 2013: $75.1 million
• 2012: $49.3 million
• 2011: $49.8 million
• 2010: $47.6 million
• 2009: $38.7 million

Single family and duplex building permits are up 33 percent from the same time period a year ago and are up nearly 128 percent from their low point in 2009:

• 2013: 87
• 2012: 65
• 2011: 59
• 2010: 75
• 2009: 38

Apartment construction, which historically has been up and down, is going through a boom period. The number of apartment units under construction in the first half of 2013 is up 103 percent from the same time period a year ago:

• 2013: 374
• 2012: 184
• 2011: 63
• 2010: 0
• 2009: 172

I’ve already got my boots off, so let me do this math for you. If I’ve counted all my fingers and toes properly, the number of apartments built in the last five years has outnumbered the number of houses/duplexes built by 793 to 324.

Since we’re doing math, here’s another interesting number: Lawrence’s population as of July 1, 2012, was 89,512. As of July 1, 2008, it was 90,520. (Confession: I cheated and used Census Bureau figures here. My wife and kids wouldn’t take their shoes off.) That’s 1,008 fewer people, but during that time we’ve added 419 new apartment units and 237 new houses/duplexes. City officials, however, have taken exception to these Census Bureau population estimates because they think the city’s population has been undercounted. The city contends that population has grown slightly during the time period.

Either way, it sure seems that apartment construction, in particular, is outpacing the growth of new residents. If that’s true, it would be interesting to see the vacancy rates of some of the older, less maintained apartment complexes in the city. It doesn’t get much discussion at City Hall, but it is plausible to think that one of the larger issues of the next decade is how those old apartment complexes get redeveloped in the future.

Whether you leave your shoes on or off, that is likely to involve some pretty complex ciphering.