The average value of a residential building permit in the Des Moines area shot up to $332,937 in July, the highest it’s been since October 2021 when the average permit value was $338,119, a review of communities’ building permit data shows.

So far in 2022, the average value of a residential building permit is $285,890. In June, the average value was $295,593, records show.

July’s high average permit value is due in part to the construction of a townhouse project at 550 Indianola Ave. in Des Moines. The project includes six townhomes, each valued at $1 million, according to Des Moines permit data. The project is being built by Premier Construction Services.

Through July, there were 2,222 residential building permits issued so far this year, 302 fewer than the 2,524 issued during the same period in 2021, records show. In July, 256 residential building permits were issued in Polk County and the 13 communities surveyed by the Business Record. In July 2021, 274 permits were issued. Also in July 2021, the average value of a residential permit was $276,440.

Nationally, there were 916,000 single-family housing starts in July, 10.1% fewer than in June, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau’s monthly report.

The drop in single-family home construction is “another indicator that the housing slowdown is showing no signs of abating, as rising construction costs, elevated mortgage rates and supply chain disruptions continue to act as a drag on the market,” National Association of Home Builders’ chief economist Robert Dietz recently wrote in a column. A “housing recession” is underway, Dietz wrote.

Builders across the country are seeing a decline in consumer interest in newly constructed houses, mostly due to a drop in affordability, he wrote.