|
Permit Reports
Local New
Home Construction Hits New Record
for April
New home construction
hit an all-time high for April
as local home builders pulled 1,156
single-family construction permits
last month, according to statistics
compiled by the Home Builders Association
of Greater Kansas City (HBA). The
previous high on record for April
was 993 permits issued in April
2002. Last month also ranked as
the third-busiest month for local
new home construction behind the
1,167 permits issued in March 1999
and the 1,163 permits issued in
March 2004.
|
|
|
April
Permit Reports
|
|
Residential
Building Permit Statistics
- Excel
| PDF
Single-family
Detached Residential Building
Permits Report - Excel
| PDF
Permit information
is compiled by the Home Builders
Association
of Greater Kansas City.
|
|
April’s
total marked a 17 percent gain from the
same time last year. A
total of 3,693 single-family building
permits have been issued through the
first four months of 2004, up 12 percent
from last year.
The rise in new residential
construction permits comes as mortgage
rates are also
on the increase. Expectations the Federal
Reserve Board will soon raise interest
rates have caused the national average
for 30-year mortgage rates to rise
nearly a full point since late March.
The rise
in rates will likely spur prospective
buyers to accelerate home purchases
to take advantage of historic low rates
before they increase further, according
to HBA Executive Vice President Tim Underwood.
“The recent increase in mortgage
rates are probably a wake-up call for
many new-home buyers that rates will
not get any lower,” Underwood said. “The
strong residential construction numbers
suggest that new home buyers are looking
to buy now before rates go higher.”
Underwood
said while the short-term prospects
for local new home construction
are strong, rate increases will likely
result in slower construction down
the road. As mortgage rates rise, the
purchasing
power of local families will decrease,
pricing many families out of the homeownership
market.
“As rates rise, we will need to
see more housing choices that reduce
costs for new home buyers,” Underwood
explained. “Both local municipalities
and the development community will need
to work together to provide more choices
at the price points demanded by Kansas
City’s families.”
Kansas City, Mo., remained
the top city in new-home construction
activity through
April with 549 single-family permits
issued. Heavy permit activity in advance
of building code and plan review changes
boosted Overland Park into second place
with 336 permits, followed by Olathe
with 333 permits and Lee’s Summit
with 301.
Rounding out the top 10
are Shawnee, 193; Kansas City, Kan./Wyandotte
County,
170; Independence 164; Gardner and
Raymore,
tied with 149; and unincorporated Platte
County, 106.
The
Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas
City (HBA) is the voice of the housing
industry and the source for housing information.
Comprising more than 1,000 member companies,
the HBA represents an industry that contributes
more than $2.5 billion to the Kansas City
economy and supports more than 36,000
jobs in the Greater Kansas City metropolitan
area.
|
