Several large multifamily construction permits pulled in April helped boost the residential construction numbers for the year, but single-family construction activity continues to fall. With permits pulled for 1,152 units in April, multifamily permitted units are up 8% over this time last year. With 407 permitted units in April, single-family construction is now down 8% year to date in 2019.
“The continued drop in single-family permits is concerning, as the housing market is already chronically under supplied in our region,” said John Rask, president of Housing First Minnesota. “We believe weather is still having an impact on residential construction activity, along with rising housing affordability pressures.”
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for Housing First Minnesota, there were 423 permits issued for a total of 1,559 units during four comparable weeks in the month of April.
“The market is demanding a surge in affordably priced homes to ease the supply bottleneck,” said David Siegel, excutive director of Housing First Minnesota. “This is a complex problem that we’ve urged the legislature to address this session by creating a commission on housing affordability.”
For the month, Lakeville took the top spot with 36 permits issued. Plymouth came in next with 34 permits, followed by Woodbury with 25 permits and Maple Grove with 23 permits issued. Rounding out the top five was Otsego with 17 permits issued.
