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Area home builders struggled to find new buyers for homes in July, according to the latest permit numbers from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
Builders filed 392 single-family construction permits in the nine-county metropolitan area in July, BAGI said Tuesday. That's a 17-percent decrease from July 2014 and a 26-percent plunge from last month.
Area permit filings have fallen on a year-over-year basis in three of the past four months. Year-to-date filings are now at 3,031 through July, down 4 percent compared with the first seven months of 2014, when 3,150 permits were filed.
“I believe the record-breaking wet weather we experienced last month coupled with the shortage in lot availability are major contributors to the dip in July permit numbers,” BAGI CEO Steve Lains said in a written statement.
Filings were down 59 percent in Marion County, from 95 in July 2014 to 39 in July 2015. Filings are down 1 percent in the county for the year.
Filings rose 3 percent in Hamilton County, from 160 to 164, but are still down 1 percent on the year.
Hendricks County saw a 10-percent increase in permits, from 63 to 69.
Permits dropped 15 percent in Johnson County, from 53 to 45.
Filings increased from 26 to 32 in Hancock County, a rise of 23 percent.
Filings dropped 32 percent in Boone County, from 28 to 41.
Fewer than 10 permits each were filed in Shelby, Madison and Morgan counties in July.
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