Roseville, MN (January 4, 2012) – After a slow start in 2011, residential construction in the region ended the year relatively well. With the help of two large multi-family projects, December’s permit and planned unit numbers were higher than any December since 2006. Year-to-date, permits came in higher than any year since 2007. While planned units lagged behind 2010 by almost 20 percent, this can be almost entirely attributed to the 50 percent drop in multi-family units (in buildings of 17 units or larger), with single family homes coming in two percent higher in 2011 than in 2010.
According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 293 permits for a total of 568 units during four weeks in the month of December, 2011. Year-to-date, there were 2,978 permits issued for a total of 4,529 units.
“While our builders have been seeing small signs of recovery all year, it was pretty clear that any sustained growth would remain elusive.” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2011 President and co-owner of Imperial Homes, Rich Riemersma. “Both our spring and fall Parade of Homes® events drew more visitors than we’ve seen in awhile, but many of those folks remain hesitant to buy.
“Cautious optimism continues to be the guiding principal for our industry,” Riemersma said.
Burnsville led the metro in building activity for the month with 141 units permitted. Lakeville followed with 102 units. Chanhassen and Woodbury both had 31 units permitted, with Blaine rounding out the top five with 25 units. For the year, Minneapolis led the way with 416 units permitted, followed by Blaine with 336, Woodbury with 292, Plymouth with 286 and Maple Grove with 265.