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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowAfter a strong 2024, central Indiana builders are continuing to see a slump in demand for new homes in early 2025.
Builders filed 735 single-family building permits in the nine-county area in March, a decrease of 16% compared with the same month of 2024, according to the latest statistics from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, or BAGI.
It was the third straight month of declining filings on a year-over-year basis following a streak of 20 straight months of rising applications.
So far in 2025, 2,158 permits have been filed overall in the area, down 6% from the 2,288 that were filed in the first three months of 2024.
Typical home-construction hotbeds Hamilton and Marion counties saw big declines in permit activity last month, but Johnson and Hancock experienced significant increases.
National outlook
The National Association of Home Builders said constrained housing affordability conditions due to elevated interest rates, rising construction costs and labor shortages led to a reduction in housing production in March.
Overall housing starts decreased 11.4% in March nationally to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.32 million units.
County-by-county filings
March single-family building permit filings by county and year-over-year change:
Hamilton: 204 (-28%)
Marion: 125 (-31%)
Johnson: 110 (+104%)
Boone: 90 (-17%)
Hendricks: 73 (-45%)
Hancock: 71 (+51%)
Madison: 28 (-33%)
Morgan 24 (+14%)
Shelby: 9 (+50%)
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I thought this was the part where we win, and win so hard we get tired of winning? These nervous nellies are driving up my rent!
To builders: build faster!
To prospective buyers: pull the trigger!