Permits Dip in September (September 2018)

Local cities and counties permitted 337 single family units in September, a decrease of 177 from both the prior month of August and from September of 2017.  With a year-to-date total of 4,485 permits, 2018’s activity is now 3% lower than during the first 9 months of 2017, according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City’s (HBA) monthly Residential Building Permit Statistics report. Multi-family unit permits (five or more units in one building) have surpassed the same period last year, with 2,562 units permitted in 2018 compared to 1,627 in 2017.

Click here for the September 2018 Residential Permit Stat report.

Whether September’s decrease is attributable to builders taking a breather to catch up with their summer contracts, or whether it indicates the headwinds of rising housing costs and mortgage rates have slowed construction, is not clear at this point.  In any case, 2018’s year to date total remains the second highest permit count since 2008, with the exception of last year.

Kansas City remains the top permitting city, with 577 permits issued in Clay and Platte counties and 70 in Jackson county, for a total of 647 (a 13% decrease from 2017).  Likewise, Johnson county’s top two cities of Olathe and Overland Park have a combined decrease of 128 permits, or 16%.  Overall, Johnson county’s permit total has increased, with growth in De Soto, Leawood, Lenexa, Prairie Village, Spring Hill, and Westwood.