Two measures of building activity in the Kansas City area flashed positive signs as spring weather softened the ground in March.
Dodge Data & Analytics reported Thursday that contracts awarded for future residential and nonresidential construction climbed 63 percent to $334.7 million in March.
The report, which covers a 15-county area in Kansas and Missouri, noted that residential building contracts increased to $143.8 million from $130.5 million in March 2014. Nonresidential business posted $190.9 million in contracts, up from $75.4 million a year earlier.
For the first three months of 2015, the total value of construction contracts was up 96 percent to $1.1 billion from the first quarter of 2014, the report said.
Separately, the Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City reported that building activity for single-family homes increased by 30 permits in March. There were 392 permits issued for single-family homes during the month, up from 362 a year earlier.
That boosted first-quarter homebuilding activity to 887 permits, up 3 percent from the first three months of 2014, the association said.
“First-quarter numbers for 2015 are remarkably similar to 2014 in total,” said Sara Corless, the association’s executive vice president. “But there has been a 10 percent shift to the Missouri side of the metro that we attribute to higher land development costs and lot prices” on the Kansas side.
There were also 794 permits issued for multifamily units metrowide in the first three months this year, down slightly from 832 issued in 2014’s first quarter.
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