Area homebuilding permit filings down in July

Permit filings for home construction in central Indiana fell 5 percent in July, the first decline the market has seen since January.

Homebuilders filed 475 single-family building permits in the nine-county metro area last month, the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis said Wednesday. That’s down from 500 that were filed in July 2013.

Filings had shown slight year-over-year improvement in four of this year’s first six months. They were down 1 percent in January and flat in May.

Through the first seven months of the year, 3,148 permits have been filed in central Indiana, an increase of 1 percent over the same period of 2013.

Local housing hotbed Hamilton County led the area in permit filings in July, with 160. But that was 17 percent fewer than the 192 filed last July.

Marion County saw a 23-percent rise in permits, from 77 to 95.

Johnson County experienced a 10-percent decrease, to 53 filings. Permits were down 7 percent in Hancock County, to 26.

Filings also fell 7 percent in Hendricks County, to 63, and were down 27 percent in Boone County, to 41.

Fewer than 20 permits each were filed in Morgan (19), Madison (11) and Shelby (7) counties.

Home construction starts dropped 9.3 percent nationally in June. National numbers for July haven’t yet been released.