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Houston residential contracts totaled $7 billion in 2012, up more than 30% from a year earlier. Commercial contracts inched up just over 1% to $3.7 billion.

Patrick Jankowski is vice president of research for the Greater Houston Partnership. He says Houston’s strong job growth is fueling the construction boom.

“There’s some pent-up demand. People who did not buy houses for the last two or three years are buying them now. People moving to the region are buying homes, and that’s what’s driving residential.  The commercial is just being driven by the demand for office space and the demand for industrial space. The oil industry is still doing very well. The health care industry is doing well. People need places to house their workers so they can continue to treat patients or so they can continue to go out and look for oil and gas.”

Jankowski says construction is typically one of the last sectors to recover after a recession. He says the fact the sector is growing so fast means the region’s economy is already well into an expansion.