Area home construction down

Clovis is mired in a house-building slump like the rest of the nation, but for a different reason, according to local officials.

According to the latest information from the U.S. Census Bureau, 238 homes were built in Clovis from January to November 2006. In that same time in 2007, 138 homes were built.

Cannon Air Force Base’s transition to the Special Operations Command has more to do with it than the fluctuating housing market, according to officials.

“In Clovis it’s driven by the transition from the fighter wing to the special operations wing. There are a lot of people that have pulled out of this base,” said Clovis City Commissioner and New Mexico Home Builders Association President Randy Crowder. “And that’s not just the housing market, but the self-storage industry has felt that also. There are a number of indicators that point to a citywide business downturn.”

Clovis Building Inspector Tom Heap said as more people stationed at Cannon are reassigned to other bases because of the transition, they leave a surplus of available houses.

“And so you have guys that would sell their houses and kind of move out and you didn’t immediately fill those in,” he said.

However, once the transition picks up, Heap expects the building permits for housing to rise.

The housing slump is statewide, according to New Mexico Home Builders Association Government Affairs Director Melanie Teeter. She said there were 3,000 fewer homes constructed in the New Mexico in 2007 compared to a year before.

She said the housing market is starting to pick up.

Landmark homes owner John Bourne said he has noticed an increase in home buyers interest in his homes, which are usually priced around $300,000.

He said the Clovis housing market is unique because of the base.

“We knew we were going to be in the bathtub for a while in the housing market, and we were expecting it, so it really wasn’t a shock,” he said. “I think If the base was up to full strength now like it had been the last few years, our market would be better than the national market because it usually is.”