September Permit Activity Up for KC Metro Area

Single family and multi-family permits in the Greater Kansas City area increased at the end of the third quarter with 226 total units posted according to the September 2011 report of the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City.  Of that total single family remained steady with 202 units versus July and August figures of 204 each.  Twenty-four multi-family permits were pulled in Gardner, Kansas.

Single family units year to date totaled 1,696 compared to the same period in 2010 that reached 1,810.  So far, this year’s lag in activity has been felt most in Kansas City, MO (Clay and Platte counties),  Cass county (MO), and Miami and Wyandotte counties (KS).  Cities like Overland Park, Independence, Blue Springs and Lenexa have shown increases in 2011 permitting activity that builders and developers largely attribute to employment opportunities and good schools—the basics in most homebuyer decisions.  “Record low interest rates and good weather have also been factors in the past couple of months keeping Kansas City homebuilding activity moving forward,”  according to Sara Corless, Executive Vice President of the HBA.

Permit data is gathered from over over 70 cities in the eight-county metropolitan area on both sides of the state line each month.  More than one-third of those cities are showing lower numbers for 2011.  However, year to date, Johnson County’s market share is steady at 38 percent represented by 650 total units, followed by Jackson County with 21 percent and 359 total units, and Clay County with 18 percent and 298 total units.

View  Residential Building Permit Statistics

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The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City (HBA) is the voice of the housing industry and the source for housing information. Comprising approximately 750 member companies, the HBA represents an industry that supports more than 10,000 jobs in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan area.