Call it the happy confluence of finance and home fashion.

Spurred by a combination of low-interest mortgage rates and the increasing popularity of home improvement shows, local sales of building supplies are on the rise. In fact, over the five-year period of 1999-2003, Lewiston-Auburn has seen an increase of 11.2 percent in the sale of building supplies while the state average is 7.3 percent.

The vitality of sales doesn’t surprise Gary Lachance, manager of Auburn’s Home Depot. The big box retailer opened in 1999, and has been busy ever since.

“So far we’ve been doing very well,” said Lachance, who came to the Auburn store after working at the Portland Home Depot and Grossman’s. While at Portland, he noticed many customers came from the L-A area; now they’re shopping locally.

Galen Rose, an economist with the State Planning Office, said the opening of a big box retailer can often have a significant impact in local sales. The numbers bear him out. In 1998, the year before Home Depot opened, the L-A metro area sold $49.5 million in building supplies. In the year 2000, the figure was $92.2 million.

“Not only do they (big box retailers) tend to attract customers from a wider area, but also, if there is no big box store locally, people will travel to where there is one,” he said.

He said another common occurrence is for a competing big box retailer to come in when one is already established. Last month, Lowe’s, another national home improvement chain, announced plans to build its first Maine store in Auburn.

Jennifer Stanbery Smith, a spokeswoman for Lowe’s, said the company doesn’t gather sales figures on building supplies from the state directly, but the information could be solicited by contracted researchers who design models to help the retailer decide store locations. Lowe’s had been discussing locating its first store in Brunswick last December. Brunswick showed only a 6.6 percent increase in sales of building supplies from 1999-2003.

Both big box retailers hope to ride the rising wave of home improvement, remodeling and building projects. Planners in both cities say the number of building permits has increased. Auburn hasn’t tallied all its 2003 numbers yet, but Lee Feldman, director of planning and permitting, said 2004 is proving to be even busier. During one quarter of 2003, 184 building permits were issued.

“We’re far ahead of that at this point,” he said.

Across the river, Lewiston’s chief planner, Gil Arsenault, said 856 building permits were issued in 2003. Seventy-five of the permits were for single-family homes, a significant increase over the year 2000 when 26 permits were issued.

Rose said the continued availability of low-interest mortgages and refinancing loans is helping fuel the boom.

“A lot of people are taking the money from a refinancing and, with that cash, are buying new cars, remodeling or expanding their homes,” he said. “It’s helped keep the building suppliers doing well.”

Another factor, according to Home Depot’s Lachance, is the increasing interest by women shoppers who are more comfortable in home improvement stores than ever before. Propelled by cable television shows such as “Trading Spaces” and “While You Were Out,” as well as home and garden shows, women consumers are making their mark.

“Where they may have been a little shy about it once, they now are more than capable to shop in hardware and home improvement stores,” he said.

Rose said with the Federal Reserve showing little interest in raising rates, it’s anyone’s guess how long before the boom will go bust. But he issued a note of caution.

“It can’t go on forever,” he said, nor should it. He said there’s particular danger that people will build up overwhelming mortgage debt, much like some people build up credit card debt, and be unable to meet their payments. That means they could lose their homes.

“It’s probably best if things did slow down,” he said.

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