Crown Point new home construction spikes

CROWN POINT | New-home construction in the city continued its climb last year from a 10-year low in 2008.

The building department in 2010 issued 92 permits for single-family homes, with a total value of nearly $23 million, up from 79 permits valued at a total of $20 million a year earlier.

The number of new homes in the city topped those in nearby communities and could be part of a gradual increase regionwide.

"The market has stabilized" locally, Olthof Homes owner Todd Olthof said. "We don't expect a strong move upward, but we would expect a slight uptick."

While nowhere near the 295 new single-family homes constructed at the 2005 peak in Crown Point, the 92 permits issued last year are an improvement from 2008, when 72 permits were issued. The year marked a dramatic decline from 2007, when 172 new homes were built at the tail end of a boom that began in 1999.

In neighboring communities, St. John issued 81 new single-family home permits last year and Cedar Lake issued 65, to come closest to the Crown Point number, according to information from the Crown Point Planning and Building Department. A total of 56 permits was issued in Winfield, while Dyer gave out 34 and Schererville 23.

Olthof, whose Pentwater development in Crown Point accounted for 19 of the city-issued permits, said the local housing market never did see the kind of boom, or bust, experienced in other states, helping to account for its current relative stability.

"Another important thing is consumers still like a new home," Olthof said.