Construction activity is down in the Twin Cities metro, but houses are overtaking apartments. That's the latest from the Keystone Report , which tracks permit activity for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC).

During roughly the past four weeks 155 permits were issued to build 201 units. So far this year builders pulled 555 permits for 621 units. Of those units, only 80 are multi-family compared to 710 multi-family units permitted at this time in 2010. The shift from apartments to houses is a sign that consumers are buying again, though at a much more subdued pace than even two years ago.

Home builders tell me that they've seen more prospective buyers at the Parade of Homes than they saw last year. Here's one piece of evidence: By last week the number of people who were willing to pay $5 to tour one of two "dream homes" that are on the parade this spring exceeded the total number of paid visitors during the entire Parade last year. This is the final weekend of the Parade, you can hours and directions to the house on the BATC website.