Residential construction permitting activity jumped again in June, with several large multi-family buildings leading the way. Permits for the month were down by over 16 percent from June 2013, but units were up by 37 percent. The drop in permits was due to a 17 percent drop in single family construction. Year-to-date, permits are also down by almost five percent, while total units permitted in 2014 were nine percent higher than at this point last year.
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 414 permits issued for a total of 1,247 units during four comparable weeks in the month of June, 2014. Year-to-date, there were 2,269 permits issued for a total of 4,579 units.
“The single-family permit data is disappointing,” said Shawn Nelson, Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2014 president and president of New Spaces. “Our builders reported good traffic during March’s Parade of Homes, but have not seen the typical number of buyers from that traffic in the months since.”
“One of the reasons is that Minnesota’s regulatory burden on new homes is one of the highest in the nation, pricing many buyers out of the market,” Nelson said.
Minneapolis regained the top spot in permit activity for the month, permitting 468 units (459 units in two multi-family buildings). Maple Grove ranked second with 217 units permitted (including one 196 unit building) followed by St. Louis Park with 159 units (all but one unit in a single building). Woodbury with 29 and Blaine with 26 units completed the top five.