Homebuilders are off to another busy start to the year. Single-family construction in the Twin Cities kicked off the first month of 2022 with double-digit gains over January of last year with 606 permits pulled, a 12% increase over 2021. Townhome construction and small multifamily projects (16 units or less) are also off to a strong start with 110 permitted units, a 10% increase over last year. On the multifamily side of housing construction (59 units or more), permits fell with 789 units permitted, a 29% drop from January of 2022.
“The demand for new single-family homes has not let up since the pandemic started,” said James Julkowski, 2022 president of Housing First Minnesota. “With millennials reaching their peak homebuying age and existing housing inventory at historically low levels, we don’t expect to see the hunger for new homes drop anytime soon.”
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for Housing First Minnesota, there were 637 permits issued for a total of 1,505 units during four comparable weeks in the month of January.
“The increased desire for new homes in the Twin Cities is further proof that our market simply needs more homes,” said David Siegel, executive director of Housing First Minnesota. “We remain concerned about the affordability of our housing market. We anticipate the supply chain issues will eventually moderate, but the regulatory environment that has created major barriers to starter home construction will not mitigate without action by policymakers. Delaying action continues to impede our builders. With resale inventory at stunningly low levels and the ability to construct new units powerfully constrained, prices are going to be pushed higher and more Minnesotans will be left on the sidelines of homeownership.”
For the month, Lakeville took the top spot with 68 permits issued. Shakopee came in next with 50 permits, followed by Woodbury with 42 permits, and Rosemount with 39 permits. Blaine, Cottage Grove and Otsego all rounded out the top five all with 32 permitted units.
Download the January data chart >>
January 2022 Permits Release