Residential permitting heated up in July, with permits running higher than during any month since October 2013. Planned units are up almost 30 percent in July 2014 over July 2013, and almost 14 percent over year-to-date. Permits for the month, however, remain more than 16 percent below permits issued in July 2013, and year-to-date are still almost four percent below this time in 2013, signaling that the market hasn’t recovered from the slowdown this spring.
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC), there were 443 permits issued for a total of 903 units during four comparable weeks in the month of July, 2014. Year-to-date, there were 2,800 permits issued for a total of 5,585 units.
“While these numbers appear to reverse the recent trend, it’s clear our industry isn’t out of the woods by any means,” said Shawn Nelson, Builders Association of the Twin Cities 2014 president and president of New Spaces. “We fear that the ill-advised home indoor sprinkler mandate for a typical three bedroom home in the recently released building codes will have a dampening effect on the market.”
“With all evidence that new homes are safer than ever, and a price tag of $9,000 to $20,000, sprinklers should be a home buyers choice, not mandated by the Governor,” Nelson said.
Minneapolis remained in the top spot for permit activity in July, permitting 328 units (319 in one multi-family building). Edina ranked second with 121 units permitted (109 in one building), followed by Plymouth with 47 units. Blaine with 41 and Lakeville with 27 units completed the top five.
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