October was the busiest month yet this year for new home construction in Lawrence, according to a recently released report from city officials.

Builders took out permits for 43 new single-family homes during October, surpassing the 36 permits taken out in May, according to October’s report by the city’s Building Inspections Department.

But for the year, the number of new single family homes started in Lawrence continues to lag behind past years. Through October, Lawrence builders have started 257 homes compared to 260 last year, 285 in 2000 and 338 in 1999.

John Chaney, owner of JMC Construction, said the October surge in permits showed that not every sector of the Lawrence homebuilding industry was suffering from the slow economy.

Chaney took out 24 of the 43 permits issued during October. He said his permits were for properties in North Lawrence that would be considered “starter homes,” generally in the $100,000 price range.

“I think there is still solid demand for affordable houses, and North Lawrence is one of the few places where you can still find them,” Chaney said.

The 24 permits Chaney pulled in October are for a 12-acre development along Hickory, North and Lake streets in North Lawrence.

Chaney said he’s on pace to sell about 12 to 15 homes this year, which would be consistent with sales numbers his company has posted the past two to three years. He said he thought next year might be slightly better.

“With interest rates the way they are, it is quite a bit cheaper to own than rent,” Chaney said. “We’re getting quite a bit of demand from college students, retired people and first-time homeowners.”

Chaney said he wasn’t sure the mid- to-upper-end housing market had begun to recover from its slowdown.

“I think the higher-priced homes may still be hurting,” Chaney said. “I’m not in that market anymore, but I used to be, and I can tell you I like the starter market a lot better.”

In other numbers, the city issued building permits for $9.60 million worth of construction projects in October. That’s down from $9.88 million worth of projects in September, and down from $9.73 million in October 2001.

For the year, the city has issued permits for $115.87 million worth of construction, which is the lowest 10-month total since October 1998. Last year at this time, builders had started $129.91 million worth of projects.

The largest project of the month was a $2.17 million permit for the Best Buy store near 31st and Iowa streets. Company officials have said they expect the store to open by fall 2003. Lawrence-based Harris Construction was awarded the contract to build the 30,000-square-foot store.