FARMINGTON -- The city set a new monthly record in March for single-family housing permits, then turned around in April and broke that record by 14 more permits, according to Rick Bramall, city building official.
Farmington issued 46 permits for single-family homes in March, a new record, Bramall said. For April, the city issued 60 permits for new homes in the community.
Farmington had a record low for housing permits issued in a year's time in 2016, only 30 permits were given out that year. Since then, permits have continued to increase each year.
Farmington issued 69 permits for new houses in 2017 and 80 permits in 2018. This increased to 97 new home permits in 2019 and to 156 new home permits in 2020. Through May 24, the city has issued 125 permits for single-family houses in 2021.
For multi-family developments, the city issued permits for 22 buildings in 2020 (12 six-plexes, 10 duplexes) but has not issued any yet this year.
The April housing permits show new homes that ranged in cost for materials and labor from a low of $222,000 to a high of $718,000 for a house on Jim Brooks Road. Most of the houses show construction costs in the $230,000-$250,000 range.
The latest round of housing construction probably started in late 2017 with Saddlebrook Subdivision on Clyde Carnes Road, which has been completed and has 129 houses.
Since then, the Planning Commission has approved nine subdivisions with single-family homes, a mixed-housing development and one multi-family development.
The residential projects are in varying stages of development. Some are close to being finished. Some are in the infrastructure stage. Others are in the building and/or selling stage. A few are still pastureland.
In all, these developments represent more than 1,000 lots for single-family homes and 262 multi-family housing units.
The commission expects to receive large-scale development plans for three new multi-family projects in the near future, Bramall said. One will be on the property of the former Ecology Park near Double Springs Road, another on property off Old Farmington Road and the third development on about two acres off South Hunter.
Mayor Ernie Penn said he would describe the residential construction going on in Farmington as a "housing boom." The demand is greater than the supply, Penn said.
He said he had expected some of the areas to develop, such as around Folsom Elementary, the sports complex and the high school, but did not anticipate land developing so soon to the north around Creekside Park, along Broyles and off Woolsey Farm Road.
Penn said a community really cannot stop growth.
"If you don't allow growth or growth doesn't happen, your town will die," he said. "If you have controlled growth, it can be OK."
He said he considers Farmington's growth as controlled but didn't expect it to happen at once.
"It's like, all of a sudden, we've been discovered," he said.
He pointed out that the growth is controlled because the houses will be built out over a period of several years, not all in one short time frame.
If the current developments build out to their proposed future phases, Farmington will have 1,700 single-family lots, Penn said. Estimating an average of three people per house, that increases Farmington's population by at least 3,400 people in the coming years, he said.
Keith Marrs, a developer and a real estate broker with Legend Realty in Farmington, said he predicted more than five years ago that Farmington was on the cusp of a housing boom.
"I knew Farmington was going to explode at some point," Marrs said. "Farmington is such a good place to live. It's 2 1/2 miles away from 49, has great schools and is a great community."
As Fayetteville has grown, the place to expand has been west, Marrs said. He's not sure where Farmington is headed with its growth but doesn't see it slowing down anytime soon.
Mark Marquess, who is building The Grove at Engels Mill in Farmington, agrees with Marrs that developers are coming to Farmington because of its proximity to the interstate, the schools and the community.
Marquess said he has almost all 128 lots reserved for the first two phases of The Grove, a multi-phase development located east of Folsom Elementary and north of Twin Falls subdivision. The planning commission recently approved the preliminary plat for the third phase, another 83 lots.
Another reason for growth in Farmington, Marquess said, is the availability of land.
As Fayetteville has developed out, he said it's getting harder to find suitable land with water and sewer that's not hilly.
"Farmington really is a bedroom community to Fayetteville," Marquess said, pointing to his development called Sloanbrook located on land between Broyles Street and Rupple Road within Fayetteville city limits.
Residents in Sloanbrook are only five minutes away from the Grove.
"Farmington is almost becoming part of Fayetteville," he said. "There's so much crossover, it's seamless."
Both Marrs and Marquess are concerned about housing prices because of the rising cost of construction materials.
Marquess said houses that people could have afforded only one year ago now are out of their price range.
Marrs noted, "Housing has gone up so fast but income is not going up."
Another issue, Marrs said, is the absorption rate, or how many houses are on the market at one time. Multiple offers are being made on houses and almost every house is going over list, he said.
As an example, he said he had five listings, from $308,000 to $351,000, and they all sold within 24 hours and had multiple offers.
Marrs said he believes Farmington will continue to see growth as long as the infrastructure can handle it.
Penn admits Farmington will have growing pains from all the construction, and said city staff will have to monitor closely the condition of streets and other infrastructure.
For some of the developments, the city has required off-site improvements, and these will help traffic flow, Penn said.
These off-site improvements include a new street that is connecting Grace Lane to Angus Lane and providing entrance to a section of The Grove at Engels Mill. The developer for Summerfield Subdivision is making off-site improvements to North Hunter and Wilson streets as part of the project.
Penn said Farmington Planning Commission is very thorough in its decisions and is "doing a good job of monitoring the situation."
Lynn Kutter may be reached by email at [email protected].