Although there's general consensus that the national economy is rebounding, permitting activity for new residential construction in the Twin Cities showed a slight drop in April, and overall activity is "relatively flat," according to date compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities.

Single-family permits declined about 3 percent in April, overall permits were down by 6 percent and the number of units dipped 9 percent. Year-to-date, permits are also down by less than one percentage point, while total units permitted in 2014 was 11 percent higher than the same period last year.

BATC said there were 350 permits issued for a total of 744 units during four comparable weeks in the month of April. Year-to-date, there were 1,378 permits issued for a total of 2,755 units.

"Our Spring Parade of Homes was very active with plenty of visitors," said Shawn Nelson, BATC president and president of New Spaces, in a statement Thursday. "Yet a month after the tour, our members are seeing some hesitancy in purchasing.

"There definitely remains several very strong segments in the region, and economic indicators are still quite positive for new construction," he noted.

Minneapolis held the top spot in permit activity for the month, permitting 400 units (including two large multi-family projects). Lakeville ranked second with 28 units permitted, followed by Blaine with 26 and both Plymouth and Edina had 23 units permitted, respectively.