New home construction in the Twin Cities has yet to see the growth economists had predicted it would see in 2015. April’s single-family permits were exactly the same as April 2014, while multi-family permits were down by nearly 20 percent from this time last year.
According to data compiled by the Keystone Report for BATC, there were 350 permits issued for a total of 451 units during four comparable weeks in the month of April 2015.
“We’re pleased to see stable numbers, but with early year forecasts across the board predicting a year of more substantial gains, being flat is disappointing. In an environment when used housing is selling rapidly, we’re concerned that new home production is not more robust. When we ask why, we continue to find that the regulatory burden is making housing affordability a challenge.” – Chris Contreras, 2015 BATC President.
“BATC continues to focus its attention on housing affordability with the legislature, Metropolitan Council, and local governments throughout the region,” said Contreras.
For the month, Minneapolis issued the most permitted units at 100, followed by Maple Grove with 23, and Blaine for third with a total of 21 units. Rounding out the top five is Lakeville with 20 permitted units and Woodbury with 19 units.
See data chart below.
Download the PDF version of the data chart here.
