Home construction permits in the Indianapolis metropolitan area fell slightly in July following three straight months of increases in building permits.

In the nine-county area, the number of permits filed last month declined to 305, a decrease of 4 percent from the same month in 2010, according to the latest permit data from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.

The decline in July was not as severe as the double-digit decreases in permit filings from January through March this year.

Home-building activity in July decreased in Johnson (22 percent), Hamilton (8 percent) and Hendricks (2 percent) counties, but increased in Marion County (28 percent).

The 119 permits filed in Hamilton County in July were the most of any county in the metropolitan area. Fifty-nine were filed in Marion County last month.

July's overall number was the smallest amount since 201 permits were filed in February.

Through July, 2,226 building permits have been filed in the area, a 9-percent drop compared with the first seven months of 2010.

The number of building permits filed this year in April, May and June increased from the same period last year, likely due to a dramatic falloff in permit filings in those months in 2010 following the expiration of generous federal tax credits.