Fargo-Moorhead home builders fared well in 2001, recording their best year since 1998. Combined, Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo and Dilworth issued 487 single-family permits and 222 twin-home permits last year, totaling 709, according to the Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead. That's the highest total since the 615 single-family permits and 211 twin-home permits issued in 1998, which included some 1997 home starts that had been postponed due to flooding.
Local home builders did especially well in West Fargo, where a record 240 home permits were issued last year, accounting for about one-third of all new home permits in the area, up from about one-quarter in 1998.
Fargo issued 160 single-family home permits in 2001, down from 223 in 2000. But the average value of the area's homes rose from $130,000 in 2000 to $154,000 last year. Local builders are optimistic about 2002, especially if interest rates remain attractive.
—Rosie Cataldo
