Dive Brief:

• Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism predicts that there will be a 23.3% increase in building permits issued this year and 13.5% more next year. 
• The state expects residential activity to be the driving force and says it foresees 26.3% more permits this year resulting in home building, worth $1.29 billion.
• The same report predicts commercial and industrial permits will go up by 8.3% in 2014 and 10.3% in 2015.

Dive Insight:

This is the first time Hawaii has issued a construction forecast in 14 years. Home builder Mark Richards says he thinks the state may be shooting a little high. While the state says there is unmet demand for housing, Richards says developers have a problem making money if they have to buy the land on which to put the houses.