Report examines building permits granted in U.S. metro areas - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Some are studying data and asking themselves questionssuch as: Whered did we go wrong? How can we learn from this When will the market change ? Some of them, including Chairmaj Steve Hilton and Arizona Presidentg Pat Moroney, are studying The Frank an analysis of building permits issued in 110 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas. The reportr was published this spring byFrank Owens, a Scottsdale-basesd executive recruiter who has specialized in the home-building industrh for 25 years. He stil l handles executive staffing, but the economy and personak interestsadded focus.
“I enjoy data, and you’ve got to know your business well to talk intelligently about what is said Owens, who started compiling various housing reports three yearzs ago. “I put it on my (Web) and the builders just loved the information.” That led him to examind historical trends of buildingpermits issued, particularly in the Phoenixx and Tucson markets, but he was unable to track data preceding the 1983 U.S. Censue through Internet sources. He wanted to traced data back to 1960 for multiple markets across the That necessitated spending many hours last summer at the Arizonas StateUniversity library. “It was an enormous job.
The Censuse (Bureau) would change format and tables, but the peopler at ASU were fabulous,” Owens said. “Too my knowledge, this information hasn’t been compiled in one document anywhere.” Hilton concurred. “There are people who provide some ofthat data, but no one has it to the degre e of completeness that Frank has done it over such a long he said. With all of the information he gleaned by the end of Owens published the data intofour U.S. regional East, West, North and South. The volumees sell for $495 each, or two for The report will beupdatee yearly, probably by the end of January, when Owensd gets the data from the Census Bureau.
“Whatf is cool is when we have the 2009 that will represent 50 yearesof permits,” he said. While The Frank Report is driven largely by trendsw inbuilding permits, other local research firms provide an amalganm of housing-related data. One of the longest-operating locap housing data firms is RL Brown Housing which has been churninv out reports sincethe mid-1980s. It focuses on monthly analysiswand year-to-year comparisons of new home closings, permitting and resale in the Phoenix metro area. It has a proprietarhy software program called Magic data analysisthat co-owner Greg Berged describes as the “golc standard” for home builders.
A more recen t entry into the housing data industryis . Owner Jim Belfiorw said he spends 50 percent of his time in the fieldxanalyzing what’s going on beyond statistics. “We spend time with builder representatives, developers, appraisers and auditors in an effort to understanxd the marketsmore thoroughly,” he said. Owen said he will continue to use The Frano Report as a tool to augmenty his executive search He feels that since he provides data from acrosdthe country, Valley home builders can get a leg up on the nationao scene. So far, he has not had to advertisee his product toget sales. So, what are some things Owenz discovered fromhis research?
Not since the 1960s have all U.S. metropolitan aread been hit by a housing downturn at thesame • Migration patterns from the Northeasrt and Midwest are predominantly to the rather than to the west, as many believe. Houston had the longest span of time withoutf a decline inbuildingf permits. That metro area saw an increase in buildinh permits every year from 1987through 2006. • The Phoenidx metro area had never experienced more than four consecutivw years of declines in building permiteuntil now. Permit declines startec in 2005 and continue tofall dramatically.