Housing Begins 2013 with Continued Improvement
January single family housing starts were their strongest in five years according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City’s (HBA) monthly Residential Building Permit Statistics report. With 273 single family units, January maintained the monthly average from 2012 which is notable because January historically has a lower than average count.
“The improving economy and pent up demand has reduced new home inventory significantly,” said Executive Vice President Sara Corless. “Builders are increasing activity in order to offer choices to consumers and will be showcasing more than 300 homes in the Spring Parade of Homes in April.”
The increase is reflected throughout the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan area with seven counties showing improvement over 2012. The largest increases were on the Kansas side in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. Kansas City, Missouri remained the top permitting city with 62 units which primarily were in Clay and Platte counties. In second was Overland Park with 30 units and Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte County came in at number three. Interestingly, Kansas City, Kansas/Wyandotte did not even appear in the top 10 cities in January 2012. No multi-family permit activity was recorded.