Manteca is having its biggest year for single family home starts since 2005.

Builders have been issued permits to construct 343 homes through Sept. 30 of this year.

Even with less than two months to go in 2014 Manteca’s new home building pace is at the highest point it’s been in nine years. Given the dry weather and steady market demand Manteca could eclipse the 400 mark by year’s end.

Almost all of the new construction except for Del Webb at Woodbridge and Union Ranch is taking place south of Woodward Avenue. As it stands now based on approved projects, the day will come when the 120 Bypass and Main Street will mark the center of Manteca’s urban development instead of Yosemite Avenue and Main Street since close to 80 percent of proposed homes would be in South Manteca.

 At the same time the average new home being built in Manteca is setting new standards for living space. The 21 homes started in September based on City of Manteca Building Department data averaged 3,184 square feet. For the year the average home being built in Manteca is at 3,194 square feet. That’s 71 square feet more than the record year for average size set in 2003. Average home sizes shrunk significantly after the recession started in 2006 as builders scrambled to serve a constricted market dominated by first-time buyers. The average home size dropped to 1,868 square feet in 2008 before starting to rebound.

During the McMansion era when 4,500-square-foot homes were built in large numbers, there were significantly more homes 2,600 square feet and under built that brought down the average home size.