I wandered over to the Hillsborough County-City Planning Commission’s site this afternoon to download the latest report on commercial construction activity. It probably should shock no one that the activity in the area dropped 40.85% year over year to 42 total starts from 71 total starts in Q4 2008 (Can you even consider 43 starts a pulse?). Offices starts was the only sector that showed an increase while warehousing was basically non-existent at 3 total starts.
For kicks and giggles, I went back to check out what was happening at the peak of the market. In Q4 2005, there were 201 starts with retail leading the way with 89 total starts. In comparison, Q4 retail 2009 revealed only 12 retail starts, an eye popping 86.5% decrease. The magnitude of the collapse in activity is nothing short of stunning. Anyone that is living it, though, is probably not the least bit shocked.
