The new Space Command headquarters will bring 1,400 jobs to Madison County, according to Redstone Arsenal.
And they’ll need somewhere to live.
The Huntsville/Madison County Builder's Association has known for a couple of years now that thousands of people will be moving to the area. So, they've been planning ahead.
"For the next 3 to 5 years, over 50,000 people are going to move to this area," said Barry Oxley, Executive Officer for the Huntsville/Madison County Builder's Association.
Oxley says the Huntsville/Madison County Builder's Association has been planning for thousands of people to move here, but houses are still going quick.
"The housing market's been tight," said Oxley.
The builder's association is still ramping up their work to where they want to be.
"We're building about 3,000 houses a year. Now, we have to ramp up to maybe as much as 5,000 homes," said Oxley.
There have been challenges, though.
"The biggest challenge of building new homes is to have developable land," said Oxley.
And it can take a lot of time before the houses can start being built.
"If you're going out to get a farm or some other existing property, you have to build infrastructure and that could take a year and a half to build all that infrastructure," said Oxley.
New apartments and condos will help provide places for people to live if they cannot find a house.
"Those are going to help meet some of that demand. The apartments will help in the interim between people actually getting in a house," said Oxley.
The housing market in Madison County is already tight. Oxley says that adding more jobs will only extend the demand for homes a couple years, especially now that the new Space Command headquarters will be coming to Madison County.
More people moving to Madison County means the demand for homes will continue for several more years.
"Fortunately, we've been planning, so we know that this demand is going to be here. So, this is just going to add a couple more years on to that demand, and for our industry, that's fantastic news," said Oxley.
Right now, the interest rate for homes is very low and that is helping the housing market. Oxley says you can get a 30-year loan anywhere from 2% to 3% if you have good credit.
