Kansas City home builders pulled 820 single-family building permits last month compared to 620 permits pulled in September 2001. A total of 7,452 single-family permits have been issued this year compared to 6,591 during the first nine months of 2001.

The gain in single-family permit activity is driven by double-digit growth in every metropolitan county except Johnson County where permits are down 5 percent year-to-date. Clay and Jackson counties have made the largest gains in market share this year thanks in large part to a greater availability of home sites and more broad housing choices, particularly for first-time homebuyers.

The across-the-board increases in permit numbers illustrate that both home builders and new home buyers remain optimistic about housing, said Tim Underwood, HBA Executive Vice President.

"The permit activity shows that builders believe the market remains strong," Underwood said. "They will be keeping a close eye on the economy heading into 2003. The increase in activity means that we now have more homes in the construction pipeline. We will need to wait and see if the market continues to respond favorable and if mortgage rates remain low."

Kansas City, Mo., remained the top-permitting city year-to-date with 1,123 permits issued through August. Olathe is second with 936, followed by Lee's Summit with 657.

Rounding out the top-permitting cities for the month are Overland Park, 575; Shawnee, 334; Independence, 290; Lenexa, 257; Raymore, 239; Leawood, 218 and Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kan., 212.