Housing construction in the Twin Cities this month has been relatively flat. During the past four-weeks builders were issued 359 permits to build 516 units, according to a monthly report from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. That was a 14 percent decline in permits and three units short of last year, and the third month in a row during which construction activity failed to beat last year. (A single permit can be issued to build more than one unit).
"While we are pleased to see construction clipping along at a relatively steady pace, we remain concerned after seeing three months of disappointing numbers," said Chris Contreras, BATC president.
In contrast to last year, housing construction this spring has outpaced apartments. Only about one-third of all planned units so far this year were multifamily buildings, mostly luxury rental apartments, compared with an average of about 50 percent last year.
- Here are the communities with the highest number of planned new units last month:
- Champlin: 72
- Edina: 65
- Lakeville: 34
- Blaine: 27
- Maple Grove: 23
The report comes after a glowing national report from the U.S. Census Bureau showing that new single-family home sales during April exceeded expectations, rising 6.8 percent compared with the revised March estimate of 484,000
.
