Slow Recovery Continues Despite Dip in Single Family Permits in August
Home building in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area continued its slow recovery in August with 260 single-family permits issued, bringing the total this year to 2,026 which is a 34.9 percent improvement from the same period in 2011. Last month’s July single-family permits totaled 288.
Overall there was a dip in permits, but don’t tell Platte County or Johnson County where some cities have enjoyed growth of more than 145 percent on average over the same period last year, according to the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City’s (HBA) monthly Residential Building Permit Statistics report. Platte County year to date has a total of 216 single family permits with nearly all coming from Kansas City, Parkville and in the county. Johnson County year to date has a total of 802 single family permits with the biggest jumps seen in Leawood and Shawnee as a percentage of the overall permits issued.
Multi-family numbers continue to grow rapidly, too, coming in at nearly twice the number compared to 2011 year to date and five times that of 2010. In August, 457 multi-family permits were issued in apartment projects in Lenexa and Kansas City, Missouri (Platte County).
“Credit continues to ease slightly for builders and mortgage rates that were already at record lows continue to bring buyers into the market and allow homeowners to refinance which continues to help the Kansas City Market improve,” said Executive Vice President Sara Corless. “After more than five years of weakness in the Kansas City economy this improvement is bringing more builders and developers back into the market and creating exciting new product for a new generation of buyers.”
Corless added, “As the housing market appears to be turning for the better, the HBA in partnership with the National Association of Home Builders will “Rally for Homeownership”, to underscore the importance of homeownership to families and communities. We invite everyone to join us on Tuesday, September 25, at the Harry S. Truman Library, at noon.” Click here for more information on permits and the “Homeownership Rally.”