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Steamboat Springs — Building permits for single-family homes in Routt County continue to come through at a trickle, according to the most recent figures from the Routt County Regional Building Department.

One permit was issued for a single-family home in Steam­boat Springs in November, bringing the year-to-date total to seven. In the rest of Routt County — with the exception of Hayden, which has its own building department — 25 permits were issued for single-family homes through October.

Ed Becker, one of the owners of Mountain Architecture Design Group, said interest in single-family home construction indeed had been slow.

The numbers are “looking a little better than they did in October and November,” Becker said. “We kind of follow the real estate market a little bit. Real estate’s been pretty flat through the summer; I see it picking up a little bit.”

Overall building permits are up in Steamboat compared with 2009, however. There were 125 building permits issued in 2009 through November, and there were 214 issued this year through November. In Routt County outside Steamboat, 152 permits were issued through November 2009, and 111 were issued this year through November.

The building department also reported that construction valuation is down. Year-to-date construction valuation countywide was $53.6 million, compared with $70.9 million at this point in 2009.

Mark Halvorson, owner of Snow Country Construction, said he expects 2011 to be worse than this year. Halvorson has been in construction in Routt County for 38 years.

“In general, I think that 2011 is going to be slower than 2010, and that’s an unscientific opinion, and I’m hoping that 2012 will finally start coming around,” he said.

Halvorson said a lot of existing commercial and residential inventory needs to be absorbed before people start looking at building again. He said he’s doing about 25 percent new construction and 75 percent remodels.

The sputtering economy still is keeping people on the sidelines, Halvorson said.

“I think there’s people out there that would like to build, but they’re unsure of the economy, and that’s preventing them from moving forward.”

Becker said his firm expects to see a couple of homes go under construction in 2011.

“The two or maybe three homes that we hope to get out of the ground this summer are owner-occupied, and those people I think waited or are anticipating the reasonable construction costs they’re going to see this spring because it’s so competitive,” he said.

Becker said the people looking to build homes often are moving up from a condominium and are seeking smaller homes rather than sprawling luxury houses. He also cited properties already on the market as a factor.

“The issue we deal with for people who are building … is there’s a lot more inventory out there priced more reasonably than you can build for,” Becker said.

Beyond single-family home construction, Mountain Arch­itecture also has been involved with municipal work and historic preservation. Becker said he doesn’t expect to see much activity in the commercial sector aside from tenant finishes. As for remodels and additions to homes, Becker said he hasn’t seen a whole lot of that, either.

Like Halvorson, Becker said he’s not expecting to see building pick up in Routt County in 2011.

“Talking to some of the construction contractors in the valley, they are anticipating a slow construction season,” Becker said.

— To reach Blythe Terrell, call 871-4234 or e-mail bterrell@steamboatpilot.com