The Des Moines-area residential homebuilding market continued showing signs of slowing in April as rising home mortgage rates pushed potential buyers out of the market.

The 14 jurisdictions surveyed by the Business Record issued 389 residential building permits in April, 17% fewer than the 468 issued in April 2021.

The decline follows a nationwide trend that in April saw a 7.3% drop in single-family housing starts, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Lower single-family construction starts in April reflects our recent builder surveys showing notably weaker confidence in the single-family market, as rising mortgage rates and building material construction costs are driving more potential buyers out of the market,” Jerry Konter, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a homebuilder and developer from Savannah, Ga., said in a news release.

Last week, the average interest rate for a 30-year home mortgage was 5.1%, according to Freddie Mac. During the same week a year ago, the average rate was 2.95%.

During the first four months of 2022, 1,250 residential permits were issued in the Des Moines area, 16% fewer than the 1,491 issued during the same period a year ago.

The average value of a residential building permit issued during the first four months of 2022 was $281,856, up 5.1% from the same period a year ago when the average value was $268,052, the review showed.