Much of the spike in October’s permit activity was generated by two townhomes projects north of the river, including 68 units in the new phase of Tiffany Hills Townhomes in Kansas City and 56 residences in the new Townhomes of Oak Valley.

While the two projects accounted for the bulk of October’s construction activity increase, the surge in new-home starts is a positive contrast with the national housing market. The recent forecast from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) called for weaker new-home starts on the national level through the fourth quarter of 2007 and into early 2008.

“October’s local new-home activity continues to illustrate that what is happening nationwide does not easily correspond to what is happening on the ground in Greater Kansas City,” said HBA Executive Vice President/CEO Tim Underwood. “There are many positive factors in favor of new-home buyers in Kansas City, and the rise in last month’s starts shows that providing new housing choices can make a significant impact on the local market.”

Underwood pointed to the recent NAHB forecast that showed a rosier than expected outlook for Kansas City. Among key fundamentals in the region’s favor are lower than national averages for the number of subprime loans and foreclosures. Moody’s Economy.com forecast showed Kansas City as one of the metro regions in which there is expected to be no correction in housing values from the peak of the housing market in 2005 versus the trough in late 2007. New-home sales prices locally are up 6 percent compared to last year.

While Underwood said local home builders are expected to maintain lower housing starts to reduce the excess inventory of speculative homes, the emergence of new-housing choices will be critical to helping the local residential market rebound as consumers take advantage of lower mortgage rates and competitive prices.

“As the housing market recovers in the months ahead, consumers will be looking for different products and choices than what was selling during the recent housing boom,” Underwood said. “It will be critical that our local builders, developers and communities respond to the changing demand for housing choices.”

Kansas City, Mo., leads the list of top-permitting cities with 1,130 single-family homes permitted year to date through October. Olathe ranks second with 546 units, followed by Lee’s Summit with 460. Rounding out the top 10 are Overland Park, 319 units; Kansas City, Kan./Wyandotte Co., 299; Blue Springs, 225; Shawnee, 200; Gardner, 198; Lenexa, 196; and Platte County, 192.

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.