Have you noticed a difference in how newer subdivisions look compared to older ones? Yes, because of the housing downturn, they tend to be emptier right now, but they also tend to look a little better and are planned more carefully.

The reasons are threefold. First and most obviously, construction methods have evolved. Second, the people moving into subdivisions want more from their neighborhoods, like walkable streets, low traffic and nearby schools. Third, some cities are requiring that subdivisions be ranked, at least in part, on how nice they look.

Maple Grove and Shakopee are two local communities that have taken the appearance of a subdivision into account during the approval process. But now that the city is no longer one of the metro-area leaders in new building permits, Shakopee is backing away from that system. Given the low levels of platting in recent years, it may no longer be as necessary and may even be holding up approval processes on the few proposed construction projects.

Shakopee still wants to work with developers to ensure attractive neighborhoods, but it will approach the issue in different ways.

Developers say they have no interest in building crummy-looking subdivisions. Now is a particularly competitive time for new home construction. Not because there are many people or companies looking to build, but for the exact opposite reason. Because there are so few people that want a new home construction, builders are doing their best to make their properties attractive to buyers and that includes aesthetics.

Source: Building a Better-Looking Subdivision

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Home building permits increased in October compared to previous months, though the number of units decreased versus a year ago.

According to statistics within the Keystone Report for the Builders Association of the Twin Cities, there were 289 permits issued last month compared to 227 in October 2010.

Though permits increased, the number of units permitted last month fell to 378 from 551. There were more single-family construction projects and fewer large multifamily projects. Year to date, permits declined to 2,450 though October versus 2,512 in the same period last year. The year to date number of permitted units dropped to 3,519 from 4,486 in the same period a year ago.

Top cities last month for permits were Blaine, Woodbury, Plymouth, Lakeville and Maple Grove. Blaine and Woodbury also topped the list for planned units in the month, followed by Farmington, Plymouth and Savage.

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Home-building permits issued throughout the Twin Cities rose to their highest level for a single month of 2011 in September.

Single-family construction in the Twin Cities area increased while multifamily construction dropped, according to statistics compiled by the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC). According to the Keystone Report, there were 272 permits issued for a total of 352 units during four weeks last month. That compared with 228 permits for a total of 604 units in September 2010. Maple Grove had the most permitted units, with 44, followed by Plymouth and Forest Lake. Year-to-date, Blaine had the most units, at 263, followed by Bloomington and Minneapolis.

The BATC reports the number of permits issued last month was more than any September since 2007. For units, however, it was the slowest month in more than five years. That’s actually a good sign for home builders because it means more single-family homes are being constructed, versus apartment complexes.

“The permits are up. They’re going in the right direction,” said Rich Riemersma, president of the Builders Association of the Twin Cities and co-owner of Imperial Homes. “But it’s a more gradual return to the norm than we were hoping for.”

For the year-to-date, though, 2011 new construction is below last year’s level. Through September, 2,161 permits were issued for a total of 3,141 units, while by this time last year 2,285 permits had been issued for 3,935 units.

On a related note, another type of construction happening in the Twin Cities right now is homeowners who have decided to stay in their homes are moving ahead with remodeling projects. Though in some cases they are scaling back the scope of their home improvement projects and spending less, other people are getting such good deals on houses they can afford to fix them up or make changes. The average remodeling permit estimate has dropped, though, to $1,600, down from more than $2,000 in 2010.

Are you thinking about buying a new house? How about remodeling your current home?

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The Builders Association of the Twin Cities’ Fall Parade of Homes began this weekend and will run through October 2. The parade features 278 model homes in 74 cities this year.

The Parade of Homes is one of the top local marketing events for new homes throughout the Twin Cities metro area. In a sign of the times, the number of homes featured is down from 331 homes in 2010, 325 in 2009 and 497 in 2008. At its peak in 2006, 1,210 homes were shown off in the fall Parade.

But the Twin Cities Parade of Homes is one of the most successful events of its kind in the country and 278 is still plenty of homes to explore. They range in price from a $129,900 attached home in Andover to a $2.6 million custom home in Edina. About 70% of the homes are listed below $500,000.

As the Parade of Homes has been shrinking, the Remodelers Showcase has been growing, reflecting a trend in which some people have improved their homes to make due instead of trying to sell. The Remodeler’s Showcase, which runs September 30 through October 2, features 86 entries, compared with 74 last year and 94 in 2009. The spring Remodeler’s Showcase displayed 69 remodeled homes. The combined 165 entries for this year’s spring and fall shows exceeded BATC’s estimate of 140.

Visit Parade of Homes online.

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New home construction has nationally fallen to new lows and 2011 is expected to be the worst year on record for the industry. But Minneapolis and the Greater Twin Cities Area are looking good for residential permitting.

According to the Minneapolis data the city permitted construction of 1,571 units in 2006, but hit a bottom in 2009 when it permitted only 274 units. That year the city tied with Blaine for the second-most permits. Shakopee was No. 1 at 328.

This year alone Minneapolis will issue permits to build more than 1,500 new housing units, according to the Minneapolis Community Planning and Economic Development. That’s double last year’s total and likely the highest number of units for any metro-area city since at least 2006 when Minneapolis issued 1,571 permits.

For a comparison:

Year Number of Units

2006     1,571
2007     1,012
2008       464
2009       328
2010       865
2011     1,500

The construction isn’t all single-family home construction, though. According to a new analysis of aerial photography and land-use data from the Metropolitan Council, the metro area’s regional planning agency, the type of new housing construction has changed. In the 1990s, 67% of permitted residential units were single-family detached homes. In the past decade, that number has dropped to 44%, resulting in denser new residential construction like town homes and apartment complexes.

In the rest of the metro, there were 257 permits for a total of 370 units issued in the Twin Cities. Year-to-date, there were 1,581 permits issued for a total of 2,294 units. Farmington led the suburbs in building activity for July with 71 units. Blaine followed with 42 units, then Chanhassen with 32 and Plymouth and Prior Lake with 19 each. For the number of permits issued, Blaine was the leader with 21, followed by Chanhassen with 20, Plymouth at 16, Prior Lake with 14 and Shakopee and Lakeville at 13 each.

For the first seven months of the year, the top five communities in the metro area for permits issued were Blaine, with 160, followed by Maple Grove at 117, Woodbury with 106, Plymouth at 95 and Shakopee with 71.For sale housing is part of the mix, as well. Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity plans to build or rehab 60 for-sale houses in the metro area, including 16 townhouses in Minneapolis. Habitat is increasing its production goals in 2011 compared with 2010 because it can take advantage of lower land and labor costs to build its houses more affordably.

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