Central Indiana home builders snap 7-month slump with big July

Applications for home construction rose 6% in central Indiana in July, snapping a seven-month streak of declining permit filings on a year-over-year basis.

Builders filed 686 single-family construction permits in the nine-county area last month, compared with 647 permits in July 2018, according to the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.

It was the most-active July for permit filings since 2006, when 746 permits were filed during the month.

On a year-to-date basis, permit filings are down 6%, to 4,154, compared to 4,440 during the first seven months of 2018. Builders will need strong numbers in remaining five months of 2019 to avoid the first down year since 2011, when filings fell 3 percent over 2010.

“July’s correction in permit numbers is much more reflective of what we would expect to see around this time of the year in our market,” said Steve Lains, CEO of BAGI, in written comments. “Last month’s permits indicate that the market is now starting to catch up from the spring and early summer’s inclement weather that previously had been delaying the development of lots and home building.”

County numbers

Hamilton County saw permit filings increase 8% in July, from 212 to 228. Filings are down 16 percent in the county through the first half of the year.

Marion County filings dipped 2% last month, to 130, and are down 5 percent this year.

Hendricks County’s numbers were down 8%, to 89.

Johnson County saw a 13% increase in filings, to 70.

Hancock County saw permits drop 11%, to 70.

Filings jumped 9% in Boone County, to 37.

Morgan County saw a 133 percent increase in filings, to 35. Filings jumped from nine to 23 in Madison County. They fell from 7 to 4 in Shelby County.