Housing construction soared, apartment construction slowed a bit during July, according to a new monthly report from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities.

The group's monthly report, which tracks construction activity for most of the metro cities in the 13-county area, showed that 533 permits to build 698 units were issued during the four-week period ending today. Year-to-date, residential and commercial builders were issued 2,912 permits to build 4,914 units

Of those permit issued this month, 509 were for single-family houses. That was higher than any single month in six years since June 2007 when 537 single-family permits were issued.

Stay tuned for a more complete story online, and in the Friday paper.