Residential building permits are being filed nationally at about half the rate considered healthy by most economists, but builders have grown more confident over the past six months after seeing more people express interest in buying a home.
The nine-county Indianapolis area rebounded from a slow January to post a 40-percent year-over-year increase in building permits last month.
Building permits filed in the nine-county Indianapolis metropolitan area totaled 194 in January, a 2-percent dip from the same time last year. But industry leaders are cautiously optimistic.
Kim Hutchison, 52, the former treasurer of Greenwood-based J. Greg Allen Builders and Princeton Homes, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for allegedly stealing more than $446,000 from the now-closed companies.
New-home construction in the Indianapolis area slid in 2011, marking six straight year-over-year declines in residential building. The 3-percent decrease in building permits, however, was the smallest decrease since 2006.
In the nine-county metropolitan area, the number of home-construction permits filed last month dropped to 225, a 13-percent decrease from the same month in 2010.
Providence Homes was started earlier this year by Mitch Davis, 42, a former vice president of the now-defunct CP Morgan Homes; and Brian Mann, 44, managing partner of Mann Properties.
Double-digit increases in permit filings the past three months have residential construction activity in the Indianapolis metropolitan area in position to surpass last year’s pace.
Most buyers are bottom-fishers, investors looking for better returns or companies wanting their own building.
Paul Estridge Jr. owes a list of creditors including banks, suppliers and vendors more than $50 million, but has assets of less than $5 million, he said.
Kim Hutchinson, former treasurer of J. Greg Allen Builders and Princeton Homes, agreed to plead guilty to stealing $446,419. Her cooperation likely will result in a lighter sentence of 30 to 40 months.
The number of permits filed last month in the Indianapolis metropolitan area declined to 305, a decrease of 4 percent from the same month in 2010, according to the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis.
A veteran local homebuilder is tearing up the suburban residential playbook with a new project in Carmel that offers tightly spaced bungalows clustered around grassy courtyards.
M&I Bank filed the suit against J. Greg Allen, charging he defaulted on two loans he took out to buy 73 acres of land on the northeast corner of Emerson Avenue and County Line Road on Indianapolis’ south side.
Two prominent area home builders have ceased operations after owner J. Greg Allen filed suit against two longtime executives, alleging they've been stealing from the companies for years.
The North of South mixed-use project in downtown Indianapolis is just the latest development for Brad Chambers, who started out in the landscaping business.
The transformation of a wooded ravine immediately north of Park Tudor School into an 11-lot gated community will bring to market a rare commodity: a cluster of new-home sites in densely populated Washington Township.
In the nine-county area, the number of building permits filed in April climbed to 361, an increase of 10 percent from the same month in 2010.
Platinum Properties LLC, an Indianapolis upscale residential real estate developer, sought Chapter 11 protection on Monday, listing several huge debts to prominent local businesses and business people.
The Estridge Group, which had operated in the Indianapolis area since 1967, has become part of Houston-based David Weekley Homes. Estridge had struggled in recent months to stay afloat during the severe housing downturn.
