There were fewer new apartments, and more single-family houses planned in the Twin Cities during October, causing the total number of new units in the metro to fall slightly last month.
During October, 487 permits were issued to build 1,029 units in the 13-county metro area, according to data compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities. That was a 19 percent increase in permits, but a 22 percent decline in the number of planned units.
Single-family homes accounted for 538 of the planned units for the month, an almost 40 percent increase over last year. So far this year, builders were issued 4,502 permits to build 8,618 units, besting last year's unit count by 25 percent.
Minneapolis, Plymouth and Ramsey accounted for half of all planned units.
Robust apartment construction led the recovery for the construction industry. But it tends to be a volatile sector of the industry.
Jim Buchta
