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If you’re searching out where the city’s newest homes are being built, you’d better look north of the river.

Kansas City North accounted for 91 percent of the city’s new home starts in the first quarter of 2009.

From Jan. 1 to March 31, 59 of the 65 new homes approved through the city’s building permit process were located in Clay or Platte counties. While the Northland’s percentage was quite high, the total of single-family units authorized by building permits continued to decrease from previous years’ first-quarter numbers.

"It’s good news, bad news for sure," said Jade Liska, citywide planning division manager for Kansas City’s Planning and Development Department. "We still are in quite a bit of a slump. We’re certainly not where we want to be."

The city’s first-quarter housing starts have decreased every year since 651 were approved in 2005. Through the first three months of last year, the city approved 147 single-family units, or 82 more than this year.

This year, Clay County accounted for 51 of the 65 new homes in the first quarter, while Platte County notched eight. Liska attributed the high number of new units in Clay County to the area’s range in home values. It’s not something other areas can boast, he said.

"The good news is we have not priced ourselves out of any market," Liska said. "You can find homes from $150,000 to $1 million in Clay County. That gives us an advantage when markets are tight. You can still find a place to live."

Jim Hampton, executive director of Clay County Economic Development Council, had more of a macroeconomic explanation as to why Clay County had so many of the city’s new homes.

Hampton said Clay County boasted a large medical-related job field, which is not typically affected by an economic downturn as much as other fields. It can help insulate the county from the hardships of the struggling economy, he said, because the more stable jobs an area offers, the more people there will be looking to live close by.

Hampton, speaking generally about the state of the county’s economy, said he was encouraged by the first-quarter housing starts for the county.

"I think we’re starting to see signs of recovery," he said. "I think we’re beginning to see the end of this now."

As for new housing units in Kansas City, Liska said he expected next year would be "another flat year" before residential growth numbers improved.

"It’s going to be a long time," Liska said. "I don’t think we’re out of the woods even next year."

FIRST QUARTER HOMES

New single-family homes (determined through authorized building permits) in Kansas City during the first quarter of 2009 (Jan. 1 to March 31) by county:

- Clay County — 51

- Platte County — 8

- Jackson County — 6

SOURCE: Kansas City Planning and Development Department

NEW HOMES BY YEAR

Kansas City single-family home starts by year:

- 2005 — 651

- 2006 — 391

- 2007 — 288

- 2008 — 147

- 2009 — 65

SOURCE: Kansas City Planning and Development Department

News Editor Jeffrey M. Salem can be reached at 389-6653 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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