After a slow September, single-family construction picked back up in October, putting it on pace with single-family homebuilding in 2017. For the month, the number of single-family permits pulled climbed to 467, up 4 percent compared to October 2017. Townhome construction continued its hot streak with 25 permits pulled, an increase of 25 percent over October of last year. Large multifamily projects slowed in October with 291 permitted units, a 32 percent decrease from this month last year.
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for Housing First Minnesota, there were 495 permits issued for a total of 852 units during four comparable weeks in the month of October.
“Our builders reported a high number of interested homebuyers during the fall Parade of Homes, but price remains a barrier for many buyers” said Tom Wiener, president of Housing First Minnesota. “The concern is that the growing labor shortage and increasing construction costs will hold back homebuyers going forward.”
“The housing affordability problem continues to grow as interest rates, labor costs and material costs are all on the rise,” said David Siegel, executive director of Housing First Minnesota. “We need our local and state government to take a serious look at how we can bring down the cost of new housing in Minnesota.”
For the month, Lakeville took the top spot with 38 permits issued. Plymouth came in next with 29 permits, followed by Woodbury with 25 permits. Rounding out the top five are Otsego and Hugo both with 19 permits issued.
