Housing construction (not including apartments) during the third quarter was up nearly 33 percent over last year in the Twin Cities metro, boosting options for new-home buyers and putting a drain on choices for those looking for a buildable lot, according to a new third-quarter report from the local office of Metrostudy. Here's a summary of that report:

  • 1,875 new homes were started, up 10.8% from the previous quarter and 33.9% from last year.
  • For the second straight quarter the Twin Cities housing market surpassed 1,500 new home starts for the quarter.
  • At the end of September, there were 2,766 new housing units in inventory, up 234 from the previous quarter.
  • Here's a breakdown of that inventory: 2,085 units (75%) are under construction, 430 (15%) are finished vacant inventory and 251 (10%) are model homes.
  • There are 22,446 vacant developed lots throughout the 13-county metro, a 12%-decline of compared to last year
  • 10,909 vacant developed lots throughout the metro seven counties, a decline of 18.1% compared to last year/

Here's a prediction from Ryan Jones, director of Metrostudy's Twin Cities market: "We will likely end 2013 up right around 6,000 new home starts, 30 percent higher than 2012 and twice the amount from 2011," he said.