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As a whole, the construction industry is still regaining its footing in the wake left by the recession. However, one segment appears to be more stable than others.

Residential business, according to the Associated General Contractors of America, has improved 21 percent thus far in 2012 鈥� more than five times greater than commercial or retail. And it鈥檚 the only type of construction expected to experience significant gains in 2013.

Some local homebuilders who have managed to keep their doors open are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a 100 percent increase in sales and closings (in 2012),鈥� said Randy Sebastian, president of Renaissance Homes, which has established itself as the top homebuilder in Portland since filing for bankruptcy protection in 2008. 鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely a lot better.鈥�

Nationally, private residential spending bottomed out at $222 billion in July 2011. By September 2012, spending was $286 billion 鈥� a 29 percent increase in 14 months.

Nonresidential spending rose significantly over a 16-month period 鈥� from January 2011 to May 2012 鈥� but has since slipped. And expectations are for public-sector construction to decrease even more in 2013, while commercial and retail remain relatively flat. But residential (including multifamily) is expected to continue to increase, according to the AGC.

The re-emergence of residential construction can be attributed to growth in demand as well as general income and wealth, AGC chief economist Ken Simonson said.

Jim Chapman, president of Legend Homes, said he has seen a 50 percent increase in production this year.

鈥淭here was a large drop in the available inventory out there,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he lack of inventory has created some urgency that created more sales happening.鈥�

Chapman added that building homes still is not profitable. But after experiencing years of slow business, he is happy to finally see an increase in demand.

For Joe Hermanson, a local residential contractor, work remained steady during the economic downturn. As a 35-year industry veteran, he relied on a loyal set of customers. However, he has noticed that work these days has a greater scope.

鈥淭he projects I鈥檓 looking at are bigger 鈥� whole house remodels and such,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a couple of years since I鈥檝e done a really big job.鈥�

Not all local residential builders are seeing improvement. Bill Stotts, owner of Stotts Construction, a home addition company, believes work is still hard to come by. As a result, he has had to take on other projects, such as barns.

And Miranda Homes, a Damascus-based company known for its sustainable practices, has abandoned residential construction for now to develop retaining walls.

鈥淚t was the path of least resistance,鈥� company president Rob Boydstun said. 鈥滻t was more profitable and (had a) much greater need because it didn鈥檛 rely on new construction.鈥�

Boydstun admitted that Miranda would have pursued retaining wall development regardless of the recession, though he is unsure whether he would have abandoned homebuilding completely.

Sebastian focused on opportunities in certain areas of the metro area to stay afloat during the downturn. Economic growth has helped, he said.

鈥淚t certainly is more what we鈥檙e doing than what the economy is doing, in my opinion,鈥� he said. 鈥淪eventy-five percent is our products, our locations, what we鈥檙e doing. The other 25 percent is the economy getting better.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not putting ourselves out on a branch or anything. But things have really improved.鈥�