Lee's homebuilding jumps, commercial lags

FORT MYERS — After a lull in January, Lee County issued 49% more permits for the construction single-family homes in February than it did in the same month one year ago.

In February, contractors pulled 70 permits for single-family homes with a total value of $17.2 million compared with the 47 permits they pulled in February 2012, according to the Lee County Community Development Department.

Also in February, Lee County issued 28 permits for the construction of multifamily homes, compared with 18 in February 2012.

However, the value of new commercial construction permits remained depressed. Lee County issued commercial permits with a total value of $980,000 in February compared with $1.8 million in the same month one year ago.