Pat Minelli of the Shakopee Valley News reports:

While home construction continues to be stagnant in Minnesota and throughout the nation, homes are still being built and Shakopee was the Twin Cities metropolitan-area leader in both the number of permits issued and the number of units approved in 2009.

Shakopee issued 304 permits for the year and approved a total of 328 new units, according to the Builders Association of the Twin Cities (BATC). More than 92 percent of Shakopee’s construction was single-family.

Blaine was second in the number of permits issued in 2009 with 203, and was followed by Maple Grove (197), Woodbury (181) and Lakeville (140). For the number of units approved, Blaine was second in the metro area with 274, followed by Minneapolis (274), Woodbury (245) and Maple Grove (232).

After bottoming out in spring, residential permits stabilized since mid-year, said the BATC. Residential permits issued last month in the metro region were 64 percent higher and permits ran 89 percent higher than in December 2008.

The organization said there were 260 permits for a total of 423 units permitted during the month of December, and a total of 4,405 units were permitted for the year.

The latter half of this year marked a rebound in single-family construction, said the BATC.

“Owning a home with a yard is still the dream of the majority of families, and we expect single-family homes will continue to gain strength,” said BATC 2010 President Gary Aulik.

“Shakopee was the region’s top growth city in 2009, and more than 92 percent of its construction was single-family.”

Pat Minelli is the editor of the Shakopee Valley News reports. He can be reached at editor@shakopeenews.com.