Homebuilding activity in west metro communities eased off in 2014, mirroring a trend for the Twin Cities overall.

The number of housing permits metrowide total 4,909 last year, down from 5,249 in 2013, according to the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. The number of housing units built also fell from 10,202 in 2013 to 10,087.

The 40 west metro communities in Hennepin and Carver counties tracked by the builders' group had 1,812 permits in 2014 compared with 1,936 in 2013. The number of housing units built in the west metro also declined.

Plymouth had the largest permit total in the west metro, 306. Multiunit housing continued to be a big factor in Minneapolis, which had 2,312 housing units on 164 permits in 2014.