Homebuilders continue to make up for the slow start to the year with another strong month of permit activity. For the month of August, 711 single-family permits were pulled a nearly 10% increase over August of last year. That brings the yearly total up 2% over 2018 year to date. Multifamily construction had a relatively flat month with permits pulled for a total of 699 units, a 1% drop from August 2018.
“It’s a good sign to see that builders are ending the summer strong,” said John Rask, president of Housing First Minnesota. “Housing inventory is still sitting well below what is necessary for a healthy housing market. We hope to see a continued increase in construction activity throughout the rest of the year.”
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for Housing First Minnesota, there were 737 permits issued for a total of 1,410 units during four comparable weeks in the month of August.
“After a bumpy start to a year filled with some ups and downs, it’s heartening to see we’ve caught up to last year,” said David Siegel, executive director of Housing First Minnesota. “Mortgage rates are definitely helping homebuyers, if we could fix our affordability challenge this market would be in overdrive.”
For the month, Woodbury took the top spot with 47 permits issued. Otsego and Lakeville came in next both with 43 permits, followed by Blaine with 36 permits issued and Prior lake with 34 permitted units.
