Ivory Homes is still No. 1 when it comes to Wasatch Front homebuilders.
For the first six months of 2006, the Salt Lake-based company secured 623 building permits valued at $125.4 million, according to a report by Construction Monitor, a publication that tracks home construction.
Rankings are based on residential valuations, which include the costs of materials and labor but not the costs of land, architectural fees or landscaping.
Close behind Ivory was Richmond American Homes, owned by Denver-based M.D.C. Holdings Inc., which ranked second at 593 units valued at $120.3 million.
In February, Richmond American Homes announced it was acquiring part of Springville-based Salisbury Homes, putting Richmond American in closer competition with Ivory Homes. The deal allowed Richmond American the chance to buy up to 725 additional finished lots throughout the Wasatch Front market, including Salt Lake, Utah, Davis and Tooele counties.
Dave Mineer Sr., president of Construction Monitor, said homebuilding in Utah continues to grow, but areas like Washington County are slowing.
In fact, Mineer said, for the first half of 2006, permits issued for single-family homes in Washington County fell to 1,171, a 39 percent drop from 1,908 permits issued in the first six months of 2005.
The slowdown in permits in the St. George area comes as home prices are peaking.
For the three months ended March 31, St. George ranked No. 1 in the nation in house-price appreciation at an average of 38.40 percent compared to the same quarter in 2005, according to the U.S. Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight.
While homebuilding in southern Utah may be slowing, building across the Wasatch Front continues to gain momentum.
Permits for single-family homes along the Wasatch Front in the first half of this year rose to 7,641, up from 7,361 during the same six months in 2005.
Robin Edwards, sales and marketing director for Fieldstone Homes Utah LLC, said she does not believe home sales here are slowing. Edwards described sales in some Wasatch Front communities as "screaming."
"I think it's still a great value to buy a home in Utah," Edwards said. "I think the income is keeping up with the home prices. But I also don't think the home prices are over-accelerating like they do in California. I think it has been a healthy appreciation."
Earlier this spring, Fieldstone Homes, the state's third-largest homebuilder, opened four new home communities in Springville, North Ogden, Lehi and Saratoga Springs, with prices ranging from the high $100,000 range to $300,000.
E-mail: danderton@desnews.com