Twin Cities Metro Lags Behind South, Sun Belt In New Home Construction, Data Shows

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The Twin Cities are falling behind many other metropolitan areas in the United States when it comes to building new housing, particularly compared to cities in the South and Southwest.

Among the nation’s 50 largest housing markets, Minneapolis–St. Paul ranks near the middle of the pack for new multifamily permits and in the lower tier for new single-family homes, according to a new analysis from ResiClub of U.S. Census Bureau permitting data.

Over the past 12 months, the Twin Cities saw:

• 2.44 single-family permits per 1,000 residents
• 1.52 multifamily permits per 1,000 residents

Metros like Raleigh, Houston, Nashville, Austin, and Jacksonville have single-family permitting rates that double or triple those in Minneapolis–St. Paul.

Multifamily construction in the Twin Cities is stronger but still far behind many southern and Sun Belt metros.

Cities such as Austin, Denver, Orlando, Charlotte, and Columbus are issuing significantly more apartment permits per capita, the data shows.

Housing supply in Minnesota, and the Midwest in general, remains tight as population growth here lags behind faster-growing southern metros.

More construction in those regions has helped absorb demand and moderate housing costs, while slower-growing markets in the Midwest have continued to experience supply strain.

According to ResiClub, the highest single-family/multi-family permitting metros are:

• Raleigh–Cary, NC – 7.67 / 3.53
• Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, TX – 6.46 / 1.72
• Nashville–Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN – 6.29 / 2.84
• Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos, TX – 6.19 / 4.79
• Jacksonville, FL – 5.95 / 1.83
• Charlotte–Concord–Gastonia, NC-SC – 5.89 / 2.09
• Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, FL – 5.33 / 3.74
• Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington, TX – 5.08 / 2.90
• Phoenix–Mesa–Chandler, AZ – 5.03 / 2.18
• Indianapolis–Carmel–Greenwood, IN – 4.32 / 1.43

According to ResiClub, the lowest permitting metros are:

• Chicago–Naperville–Elgin, IL-IN – 1.04 / 0.75
• San Diego–Chula Vista–Carlsbad, CA – 1.04 / 2.39
• Los Angeles–Long Beach–Anaheim, CA – 0.94 / 1.00
• Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach, FL – 0.79 / 2.20
• Providence–Warwick, RI-MA – 0.74 / 1.06
• Boston–Cambridge–Newton, MA-NH – 0.68 / 1.06
• Buffalo–Cheektowaga, NY – 0.61 / 0.60
• New York–Newark–Jersey City, NY-NJ – 0.61 / 1.60
• San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont, CA – 0.56 / 0.74
• Hartford–West Hartford–East Hartford, CT – 0.52 / 0.84

See the full data here.