AREA ENJOYS STRONG CONSTRUCTION SPURT

Attractive mortgage-interest rates and a robust local economy have helped spur residential construction in Cape Girardeau County.

In both Cape Girardeau and Jackson, housing starts are up for the first half of 1998. The 41 permits issued for construction of single-family dwellings in Cape Girardeau the first five and one-half months of 1998 compared to 30 during the comparable period last year. At Jackson, 56 permits for new homes were issued through mid-June, 22 more than had been issued for the same period of 1997. And the 1998 construction season is still young.

Builders say larger, more expensive homes are being built. In 1973 the average new home was 1,660 square feet. Today it is just over 2,100 square feet. With bigger homes and higher costs of materials and labor, a lot more money is being spent on home construction these days. The average house that could be built for $25,000 in 1973 now costs upwards of $120,000.

All of the homes going up in Cape Girardeau County speaks well for the local housing industry, particularly considering that statewide construction of single-family residences was down $10 million the first five months of this year compared to the first five months of last year. Nationally, housing starts were up 6.4 percent the first half of this year over the first half of 1997.

The home-building boom also is a reflection of the healthy local economy. The unemployment rate in Cape Girardeau County is at a near-record low, which means people are working and have money to spend. Buyers of new homes will spend money on furnishings and appliances and other items to make their homes comfortable.

The county has been in the midst of this latest home-construction boom since the early part of the decade, when some were saying it probably wouldn't last. But it has, and nothing on the horizon indicates it will lessen anytime soon.