The regional housing market continues to show strength as total units permitted to date this year are up 96 percent from 2011. The total was helped by 844 units in five large multi-family residential projects which pushed October’s units permitted higher than any September since 2005, and a whopping 247 percent higher than in October 2011. Permits for single-family construction were also running strong, with a 46 percent increase over October 2011.
According to statistics compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 409 permits for a total of 1,312 units during four weeks in the month of October, 2012. Year-to-date, there were 3,489 permits issued for a total of 6,883 units.
“We continue to see news reports and industry studies that point to a real recovery for housing across the nation,” said Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2012 President and owner of Lee Lyn Construction, Curt Christensen. “And the Twin Cities is positioned even better than many metropolitan areas with lower unemployment, higher job growth, and rising sale prices.
“Our goal now is to sustain the momentum into the new year,” Christensen said.
In October, Minneapolis led the metro area in building activity with 749 units permitted. Lakeville permitted 124 units, followed by Maple Grove and Woodbury with 39 each, and Chanhassen in fifth place with 33 units permitted.
Data Chart and Complete Press Release attached below.