North Dakota continued to blaze its own economic trail Wednesday, this time led by the muscle of Fargo's housing industry.
Census figures released by the State Data Center showed the state posted the nation's highest gain -- 12.8 percent -- in new housing units authorized for construction from 2008 to 2009.
Alaska was the only other state that saw an increase, posting a 1.7 percent gain. New units in Minnesota fell 18.4 percent.
The outlook is also bright for this year as housing construction ramps up in the state's oil-rich western counties, said North Dakota State Demographer Richard Rathge.
He attributed North Dakota's good fortune to its ability to avoid much of the recession and housing bust afflicting the rest of the nation. The state boasts a budget surplus, rising per-capita income and the nation's lowest unemployment rate, he noted.
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"Those indicators that the rest of the nation is still feeling haven't hit North Dakota as much," he said.
Statewide, new housing units authorized by building permits rose from 2,833 in 2008 to 3,195 last year.
Rathge said most of the growth was in the state's biggest cities, including Fargo, which ranked second in the Midwest among places with the largest increases in housing units.
The state's largest city permitted 1,084 housing units last year, an increase of 455 over 2008 and second only to a 473-unit increase in Overland Park, Kan.
Demand for housing has exploded with the oil boom in western North Dakota, but Rathge said developers have been gun-shy about building new units because of the boom-and-bust cycles of the early 1980s.
However, anecdotal evidence suggests construction is ramping up, he said.
"We should start seeing, hopefully, much greater growth on the western side of the state because there is a tremendous demand out there," he said.
Statewide, the housing increase last year was the result of 546 more units in multiple-unit structures -- mainly apartments, Rathge said.
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Meanwhile, the number of new single-family homes permits decreased by 184.
The picture was rosier in the Fargo-Moorhead metro area, where single-family home construction jumped 5 percent in 2009. The 77 permits issued in the first quarter of this year were the highest since 2006, according to the F-M Home Builders Association.
Housing permit numbers for April and May aren't available yet, but HBA President Terry Becker said he and other builders are "very, very busy."
"They've got just as much work as they can possibly handle," he said.
Becker said he wasn't surprised that North Dakota had the highest percentage gain in new housing in 2009. Conservative lending practices shielded the state's financial institutions from the recession, and banks are still willing to lend to those on solid financial footing, he said.
"I think we're a little different breed here," he said.
Mike Nowatzki is a reporter at The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, which is owned by Forum Communications Co.
