Area homebuilding permits up slightly in September

Permit filings for home construction in central Indiana increased 1 percent in September, marking a slight jump following two months of declining activity in the homebuilding market.

Homebuilders filed 372 single-family building permits in the nine-county metro area last month, the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis said Tuesday. That’s up from 367 that were filed in September 2013.

Compared to the previous month, however, it’s a 17-percent drop from the 446 permits that were filed in August.

Permit filings are still up for 2014, but only slightly. Through the first nine months of the year, 3,966 permits have been filed in central Indiana, an increase of 1 percent over the same period of 2013.

Hamilton County led the area in permit filings in September, with 127, the same number the county recorded in August. It’s also the slowest month the county has seen since January, when 128 permits were filed.

Marion County saw a 28-percent year-over-year increase in permits in September, from 50 to 64.

Hendricks County experienced a 12-percent decrease in filings, from 52 to 46. Johnson County saw an even bigger decrease, 15 percent, as the number of filings fell to 50 last month.

Filings rose in Boone County, from 32 to 38. Morgan County saw a slight increase, from eight to nine.

Filings were flat in both Shelby and Hancock counties, and dipped by one, from nine to eight, in Madison County.