Area home construction activity continues to lag last year's pace, according to the latest permit numbers from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
Builders filed 497 single-family permits in the nine-county metropolitan area in May, BAGI said Thursday. That's a 6-percent decrease from May 2014.
Permits have fallen on a year-over-year basis for two straight months and in three of the last four. Year-to-date filings are at 2,109 through May, down 4 percent from the first five months of 2014.
May filings were down 4 percent in Marion County, from 78 to 75, but rose 6 percent in new-home hotbed Hamilton County, from 178 to 188.
Hendricks County saw a 20-percent decrease in permits, from 84 to 67. Filings dropped 22 percent in Boone County, from 49 to 38.
Permits rose 16 percent in Johnson County, from 58 to 567. Filings fell from 46 to 31 in Hancock County, a drop of 33 percent.
Fewer than 15 permits each were filed in Shelby, Madison and Morgan counties.
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