A total of 7,576 single-family permits have been issued in 2006 along with permits for 2,389 multifamily units comprising rental apartments and for-sale townhomes, condominiums and lofts. The total of 9,965 housing units permitted so far this year represents a decline of less than 1 percent from a year ago.

The rebound in multifamily construction and a slowing of single-family new-home starts are among local indicators suggesting the local housing market is adjusting to recent changes in mortgage rates and the need for new housing choices, according to HBA Executive Vice President/CEO Tim Underwood.

“We’re encouraged that local home builders are responding to changes in the marketplace by providing new housing choices that are needed in Greater Kansas City,” Underwood said. “The slow down in new home sales coincided with a sharp increase in mortgage rates, and that certainly had an impact on local housing affordability. With forecasts calling for long-term mortgage rates to remain stable, the long-term prospects for improvement in the single-family home-buying market are positive.”

Underwood said there are few parallels between housing in metro Kansas City and the state of the national housing market. He pointed toward the recent Moody’s Economy.com report that showed while national median home prices are expected to decline by 3.6 percent in 2007, the forecast for Kansas City calls for a 2.3 percent gain in home prices. Kansas City has also been outperforming the national average for housing permits, starts and sales in 2006.

“All housing is local,” Underwood said. “Amid the negative news about housing on the national level, it is easy to forget that the local housing market in 2006 is surpassing the national market in most respects. It is impossible to draw comparisons from the national housing market to Kansas City because our metro has maintained a more sustainable pace for new housing than we have seen in most markets nationwide. Our biggest challenges remain the same, which is the ability of the industry and our communities to provide a greater variety of housing choices that are demanded by local families, especially among opportunities for first-time homeowners.”

Kansas City, Mo., leads the metro area in single-family new-home construction for the year-to-date with 1,650 new units. Olathe is second with 674 units followed by Lee’s Summit with 459 and Overland Park at 419. Rounding out the top 10 are Kansas City, Kan./Wyandotte County with 364 units; Lenexa, 289; unincorporated Platte County, 288; Belton, 253; Independence, 250; and Raymore, 246.

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.