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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowApplications for new homes surged for the fourth straight month in central Indiana in July, according to the latest statistics from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, or BAGI.
Builders filed 951 single-family building permits in the nine-county area last month, an increase of 11% compared with the same month of 2024, BAGI said.
Filings have increased in five of the first seven months of 2025 on a year-over-year basis following a streak of 20 straight months of rising applications.
So far in 2025, 6,207 permits have been filed overall in the area, up 7% from the 5,781 that were filed in the first seven months of 2024.
“July’s permit activity demonstrates the sustained strength and responsiveness of central Indiana’s housing market,” said Chris Hancock, CEO of BAGI, in written remarks. “Builders continue to approach the market with discipline—balancing supply with demand, prioritizing quality, and remaining agile amid economic and regulatory shifts.”
BAGI said one trend fueling market growth is the increased availability of move-in ready homes.
“Builders have leaned into this strategy to maintain momentum and appeal to buyers seeking quicker move-in timelines, especially as housing affordability and borrowing conditions fluctuate,” BAGI said.
Traditional home-construction hotbed Hamilton County saw a large decline in permit activity last month for the fifth month in a row. Marion County also experienced a large drop in filings.
Hancock, Boone and Hendricks experienced significant increases in permits (see county-by-county numbers below).
National outlook
The National Association of Home Builders said single-family housing posted a modest gain (2.8%) in July as builders dealt with challenging housing affordability conditions and supply-side headwinds including labor shortages, elevated construction costs and inefficient regulatory costs.
County-by-county filings
July single-family building permit filings by county and year-over-year change:
Hamilton: 204 (-19%)
Marion: 157 (-18%)
Hancock: 145 (+91%)
Johnson: 120 (+10%)
Boone: 95 (+27%)
Hendricks: 83 (+41%)
Morgan 56 (+27%)
Shelby 51 (+219%)
Madison: 40 (+14%)
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