Residential Construction in Connecticut Picking Up A Bit of Momentum

Residential construction in Connecticut jumped in May, already putting the state on a pace to well surpass last year’s dismally slow home building activity, a new report today shows.

Residential building permits issued by the 128 towns and cities tracked monthly by the U.S. Census rose 55 percent, to 313 from 201 a year ago, according to the report from the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

Through the first five months of this year, permits issued for single-family houses, condominiums and apartment units total 1,312, up nearly 53 percent from 859 for the same period a year ago.

While the increase is encouraging, new residential construction is still far below the 3,400-plus registered for the same period in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Of the 128 municipalities in the report, 55, or 42 percent, showed a gain in permits issued in the first five months of this year, compared with the same period last year.

Connecticut has seen increases in four of five months this year compared with 2011. February’s permit activity was flat compared with a year ago.