Sources: Superior Walls of America, New Holland, Pa.
Evidencing further positive home building market trends, above- and below-grade precast wall system licensor Superior Walls reports year-to-date order activity 16 percent and 24 percent above figures for the first nine months of 2012 and 2011, respectively.
“This has been an exceptionally good year with significant growth gains in several geographic pockets across the country,” affirms Superior Walls President Jim Costello. “In the Midwest our sales have increased 45 percent over the same time period for 2012. Virginia has seen a sales increase of 38 percent over last year and North Carolina a 30 percent increase. These numbers are growing every month, which is a sure indicator that housing starts in these markets are on the rise.”
Builders throughout Virginia have been “back to business” in 2013 as the rate of single-family permits rises into the double digits against prior-year activity. “Our phones literally stopped ringing in the last quarter of 2008 when the recession hit, but the calls are now flooding in again,” says Jim Avery, vice president of Superior Walls of Central Virginia. “The custom builder market we had been servicing dried up during the housing market collapse. Now we’re seeing that those builders who survived the downturn have again started new projects.”
In Michigan, a market much harder hit than Virginia, year-to-date sales of Superior Walls products are up almost 50 percent over the same 2012 timeframe. “[Ours] was one of the first states to go into a recession, and now it appears to be one of the first states to come out of it,” notes Great Lakes Superior Walls President David Van Baren. “While there are hot spots in the Grand Rapids and Traverse City areas, the entire state—and actually most of the Midwest—is seeing positive growth. I expect this acceleration of sales will increase through the end of 2013 and into 2014.”