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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe central Indiana home-construction industry finished 2013 with a strong December, helping it post its best year since 2007.
Homebuilders filed 333 single-family building permits in the nine-county metro area in December, a 21-percent increase over the same month of 2012, the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis reported Wednesday.
December’s results pushed the total to 4,959 permits for all of 2013, a 19-percent increase over 2012.
It was the highest annual total for central Indiana since 2007, when 7,326 permits were filed.
December’s increase ended a two-month decline in permit filings. Numbers were down slightly in October and November following a streak of 15 straight months of year-over-year increases.
Hamilton County remained the area’s busiest for home starts in 2013, with 1,899 during the year, a 12-percent rise over 2012.
Permits were up 16 percent in Marion County in 2013, to 731.
Annual filings were up 15 percent in Hendricks County, to 695; 26 percent in Johnson County, to 623; 37 percent in Boone County, to 490; and 35 percent in Hancock County, to 264.
Filings were up significantly in Shelby and Madison counties, but both saw fewer than 100 home starts.
The only area county where activity decreased was Morgan, where filings dropped 10 percent, from 112 to 101.
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