Crunching the numbers: Hamilton County homebuilding activity leads region

Single-family building permits in Hamilton County are up 24 percent this year compared to the first five months of 2012, despite a slight drop in May.

Homebuilders filed 188 permits here in May, down 3 percent from the same period last year, according to data released Tuesday by the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.

Even so, the fast-growing county to Indianapolis' north had more than twice as much housing construction as western suburb Hendricks County, where 90 permits represented a 43-percent increase.

All told, single-family building permits rose 23 percent in the nine-county Indianapolis area in May, BAGI said. It was the 11th straight month of year-over-year increases.

Noblesville led Hamilton County permit filings in May, with 61. Fishers was next with 53, followed by Carmel with 40. Westfield had 26 permits filed.

Year-to-date filings in Hamilton County totaled 817, up from 659 last year.

Down the road in Boone County, single-family permits are up 34 percent for the year, to 214. Whitestown had the most filings in May, with 25. Zionsville was next with 19.

What do you make of the numbers? Any guesses on how long the growth spurt can last?