Twin Cities Multi-Housing Construction Rises in October

MINNEAPOLIS-New housing starts remained strong in the Twin Cities in September, including multi-family planned units that accounted for 51% of the units. This compares to multi-family units running at 44% in 2002, 41.5% in 2001, and 37.5% in 2000.

“During the 1990s our region grew faster than any other region in the northeast part of the United States,” says Chris Thompson, president of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and president of On the Level. “That has meant we’ve needed to sustain a high level of residential construction activity even through several years of no or slow growth in the national economy.”

In October 2003, there were a total of 1,007 permits issued for 1,732 planned units at a value of $284 million, according to the latest report from the Builders Association of the Twin Cities.

Year-to-date, multi-family planned units remain at 49% of the total (7,816 multi-family units vs. 8,144 single-family units). October was 14% ahead of October 2002′s 880 permits, 29% ahead of last October’s 1,343 planned units, and 29% ahead in value ($220,917,804 in October 2002).

Among Twin Cities suburbs with the most planned units in October of 2003 were Maple Grove with 154, Eden Prairie with 142, Lakeville with 107, Shakopee with 95, and Hastings tied with Apple Valley at 86.