Home builders look for better year in 2004

Lagging into the homestretch, Northern Colorado single-family housing permits are shaping up to finish well below peak years seen in 2001 and 2002.

Updated to November, permit numbers show that 2003 will likely end on par with the paltry numbers seen in 1999 and 2000. With Weld County’s numbers on a steady increase and Larimer County’s equally steady decline, it’s that time of the year for industry pundits to look into their crystal balls and predict what 2004 holds for the industry that drives the region’s economy.

“My opinion is, the worst is behind us,´ said Bill Kish, vice president of…