SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A billion dollars in building permit values is likely for 2022, said Butch Warrington, the chief building official for the city of Sioux Falls.
“I think we will be over a billion in the next couple months,” Warrington said. This won’t be the first year Sioux Falls has reached that mark.
The city cracked $1 billion in building permit values last year.
“It’s going to be a good year,” Warrington said of 2022
It’s already been a good six months. The city has issued about 400 more permits at the end of June compared to the same time frame in 2021.
The total value of permits is nearly double from 2021 as of the end of June. The city has recorded $868,537,859 in building permit values compared to the end of June in 2021 when $492,205,460 was recorded.
More projects, larger projects and even an increased cost in materials are reasons for the increased value.
Warrington said contractors do not specify in permit applications whether or not material and other costs have increased. Yet, “I hear it from contractors. I know it’s there,” Warrington said.
Forbes said the average cost of a newly built house in South Dakota is $204,420. That price cost does not include basements, garages, lots and similar items.
The bill for materials required to build an average-size new single-family home increased by 42% from 2018 to 202, according to MarketWatch.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in June that high construction material prices remained in May after a roughly 21% overall increase in 2021.
Sioux Falls is having the largest value growth in apartments but there were no apartment building permits in June, Warrington said.
“That’s (a fluke). That’s just how it happened to be,” Warrington said.
Even without any apartment building permits in June, the value reached $226 million in the first six months of 2022. The value was $114 million for the same time in 2021.
Warrington is confident in the $1 billion prediction because several large construction projects are still planned for 2022.
A parking ramp project at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport still needs a permit and that project should be valued at about $40 million to $50 million, Warrington said.
Other big value projects include an ice hockey arena at Augustana University and a parking ramp at Sanford Health, Warrington said.
