New housing starts on the North Coast have plummeted this year, and contractors are in a world of hurt.

As housing developments stall, construction companies desperate for jobs are bidding down the prices of other local projects. Those that would normally be flush with home-building jobs are rushing to bid on any work that will pay the bills.

Bargain prices for construction work have helped companies such as Costco start commercial developments this summer, but some big jobs that might have started this season have been put on hold because of the emaciated housing market and the credit crunch.

At least two condominium buildings planned for downtown Astoria – Englund and River Front Landing – have been delayed.

With new construction at a low ebb, the amount of construction debris Western Oregon Waste hauls away in big drop boxes has gone down 40 percent.

But there are some signs of life in the building trades. Developers, contractors and city officials across Clatsop County are optimistic that things are starting to turn around.

Floyd Holcom, owner of Pier 39, said as far as he knows he and his partners will break ground in September on the new hotel planned for east Astoria. And Paul?Caruana and Brian Faherty are still moving forward with renovations in Astoria’s Norblad and Astor Hotel buildings.

Residential building slumpsIn Seaside, the pullback in building permits has been dramatic.

The city gave out 24 building permits in the first six months of last year.

This year? Only two.

“Building permits are way down,”?said Seaside Planning Director Kevin Cupples, “I?think the housing is the part that’s hurting more than anything. House-builders, people who want to build houses, and those who want to buy and finance houses. I’m seeing a reduction in house plans and permits for new homes.”

On the other hand, commercial development in Seaside seems to be “chugging along,” Cupples said. Several new buildings have sprung up along U.S. Highway 101 in the past six months, and as far as he knows retail development plans for the empty lots in town are still going forward.

“I?think you’re seeing established businesses taking advantage of timing,” he said. “Some of the existing businesses are looking at ways they can more or less capitalize on doing things now because it’s maybe easier for them, less expensive to get materials, and they can find hungry workers looking to do projects.”

In Astoria, building permits for repairs and remodeling as well as for new construction have trended downward except for a bump when people were repairing damage caused by the big December 2007 storm.

In the six months following the storm, the city issued 454 building permits, up from 331 for the same period in 2007. This year, the number declined to 298.

In Warrenton, residential building permits issued in the first six months of this year were down by more than half from the same period last year.

Last year, there were 74 permits issued; this year 28.

Commercial building permits, on the other hand, were about the same for the same time period, slipping from 26 last year to 23 this year.

In Gearhart, building permits overall are down 20 percent this year, according to City Administrator Dennis McNally, but they’re starting to pick up.

“It’s still down, but I?think it’s on the upswing,” he said. “All in all, through the winter months and early spring we had virtually no permits being issued at all for any new construction. Now we’re seeing maybe three or four a month.”

Clatsop County issued more than $3 million in residential building permits in two months early last year, but when the market collapsed during the second half of the year, permitting activity dropped off.

Last July the county issued 29 permits for projects totaling $3.37 million, but in December the county only issued seven permits worth $419,000 altogether. The numbers stayed low for months.

But then, in April this year, the county issued 25 permits for projects valued at more than $2 million.

Astoria builder Cary Johnson said the uptick in the housing starts could be a seasonal rush to get homes built while the weather permits.

“If people are going to do something, they’ll do it now, while the weather is good,” he said.

Signs of recoveryJohnson said a project he’s working on in Warrenton is nearing completion: Crews are building the last two houses in a 19-house subdivision. After that, Johnson says he plans to begin houses in a six-lot subdivision in Svensen. But they’ll begin with just one or two homes because sales are slow.

Difficulty finding financing has stymied sales of new houses, but there might be positive signs of a turnaround.

“We’ve seen some activity lately on our houses,” Johnson said. “If people want to do anything, they’ll want to catch that low interest rate. It’s a good time.”

Local contractors are still landing jobs, though their income has dropped significantly as fewer jobs fuel price competition.

Mitch Mitchum, co-owner of the fire-ravaged Sanborn Building in downtown Astoria, said plumbing, electrical, heating and glass contractors who would otherwise be building houses in the summer put in bids to work on his rebuilding project.

“It’s very competitive,”?he said.

Jim Wilkins, owner of Wilkins Construction Co., said jobs connected with the federal economic stimulus bill are drawing 20 to 30 bidders and going “extremely cheap.”

“I’ve seen some below cost from companies that are struggling just to keep cash flow going,” he said. “There’s not the big work around there used to be. Everybody’s being real cautious.”

But while his business is down close to 30 percent, Wilkins said he doesn’t think things are getting worse.

“I’m seeing slight improvements,” he said. “If I had to guess, I’d say things are looking up.”