After a dismal 2011 for new home construction – one of the worst on     record in Massachusetts and the nation – builders are finally starting to see gains in recent months. But despite the welcome increases in work, many say they’re still cautious about conditions as they plan ahead for next spring’s market.

“I was on a conference call yesterday and one of our members said for the first time he’s actually got a project going,” said Brad Campbell, executive director of the Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Western Massachusetts. “I think, generally, you could say builders feel things are getting a little bit better. The outlook for the spring seems to be much more positive than it was last spring. But it’s very volatile.”

Nationally, new home sales were up 27.1 percent compared with last September, to a 389,000-unit annual rate, according to figures released by the Commerce Department. That’s the highest level since April 2010, when the first time homebuyer’s tax credit was in full effect. And permits have also increased, soaring 45.1 percent above the September 2011 estimate of 616,000 to 894,000 for September 2012, according to Census figures.

The latest Census figures for Massachusetts show similar strength, with single-family permits up 59.4 percent through August and multifamily permits up 59.3 percent.

Slightly Improvement

With soaring percentages like that, you’d figure builders would be ecstatic. But that’d be forgetting just how terrible a year for new construction 2011 really was. Even with a 20 percent increase this year, nationally “2012 will be the [third] or [fourth] lowest year since the Census Bureau started tracking new home sales in 1963,” as the housing blog Calculated Risk pointed out.

 It’s much the same story here in Massachusetts. “We’ve had such a miserable go at that even a 10 percent increase, 600 units, would be huge,” Campbell said.  

Dani Chedid, principal of Phoenix Construction Group Inc. in Lexington, said he’s applying for permits for a small project for next spring. “We’re looking into a project for three new homes,” he said.

But even with a new project on his plate, Chedid is tepid about prospects going forward. The acquisition that he’s decided to pull the trigger on is “is a good deal, [because] it’s a very challenging project that not a lot of people can go after; you have to have the right skill set, so we think there won’t be a lot of competition for it,” he explained, because the proposed site contains designated conservation land.

With all the special permitting and accommodations dragging the process out, he expects to do little better than break even on it. And, as financing continuing to be tight, he’s cautious about future acquisitions.

“Getting investors to line up behind you, given the current returns’ is not an easy thing, and bank requirements are not lenient at all,” he said. Even keeping enough work on deck to make sure he continues to retain his preferred crew is something “we stopped doing. They can go home. We love them, but that ain’t gonna work.”

‘Glimmers Of Hope’

Still, there are glimmers of hope.

“There does seem to be more subdivision work going on,” Campbell said. “I can’t remember when in the last two or three years you’d drive down the street and see a new subdivision [being constructed]. That’s started happening. Not in great numbers, but it’s happening.”

And some parts of the state have held up better than others.  “It’s not booming, but it’s been steady,” said Rich Bryant, vice president of Cape Associates Inc. and president Home Builders and Remodelers Association of Cape Cod. “We’ve been a little insulated here on the Cape.

“The trend down here has been more extensive remodel and rebuild” on an existing footprint – work that has stayed steadier throughout the downturn, he said.

“It’s getting marginally better,” Bryant said. “People I talk to have a backlog of work going into next year.”