Aided by lower mortgage interest rates, strong economic growth and an influx of new residents, Utah construction last year totaled $3.1 billion, up 8.9 percent over 1994, reports the University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
The value of residential construction during the year amounted to $1.85 billion, a 7.2 percent increase from 1994, the bureau said in its Utah Construction Report for October, November and December.There were 21,558 residential units built. That was the first time since 1978 that new dwelling units exceeded 20,000. These included 13,904 single-family units, down 0.3 percent from 1994.
The bureau said home construction was slower during the first half of the year because of more moderate economic growth and the cold, wet spring. "With declining mortgage rates, mild winter weather and a more robust economy, single-family building shot up," during the second half, said the report by research analyst Austin Sargent.
Multifamily units were up 38.3 percent to 6,425. Low-occupancy rates helped boost the apartment construction. Over the past two years, more multifamily units have been authorized than in the previous seven years combined, the bureau said.
The number of mobile homes and cabins authorized totaled 1,229, an increase of 6.5 percent.
Nonresidential construction rose 7.8 percent to $832.7 million, according to the bureau's figures, which are based on permits recorded. That did not include Micron's plant at Lehi. The facility, which Micron plans to mothball when the exterior is completed, will be go in the 1996 figures.
The 1995 figures included the $55 million American Stores office building in downtown Salt Lake City.
Additions, alterations and repairs reported in 1995 amounted to $409 million, an increase of 19.6 percent from the previous year.
The bureau said construction nationwide was down slightly last year.