Sullivan Homes continuing to see construction success

SPOKANE — Spokane's Sullivan Homes, Inc. ranked second last year in single family home construction dollar volume, nearly doubling its previous year total despite a region-wide slowdown in housing starts, according to permitting figures compiled by industry publication Construction Monitor.

Sullivan Homes recorded a permitted value of $23,275,276 in 2006, second among Inland Empire home builders, according to Construction Monitor's "Top Builder Report." Sullivan Homes finished the year strong: its $3,524,699 in permitted value in December was the most in the region.

"A home is the single largest investment most people make and it is an honor that so many trust us with that dream. Sullivan Homes is proud to be a preferred homebuilder of families in the greater Spokane and northern Idaho region," said Todd Sullivan of Sullivan Homes. "As the market eventually heats up again, this slowdown helped us effectively compete and provide a better product."

Construction Monitor's Inland Empire report tracks building permits of $5,000 and above issued in Bonner, Kootenai, Pend Oreille, Spokane and Stevens counties. In those counties, 3,835 permits were issued for single-family homes in 2006, a 23.5-percent drop from 5,015 in 2005, according to Construction Monitor. The value of the 2006 permits totaled $739,291,146, off 12.9 percent from $848,643,310 in 2005.

Despite the regional slowdown, Sullivan Homes' 2006 permitted valuation nearly doubled its 2005 total of $13,379,171. Its total permits (99) were up 28.6 percent in 2006 over its previous year of 77 for an average permitted value of $235,104. The number of permits ranked fourth among 710 area builders listed in the Construction Monitor report.