I’m still waiting for the boom to come. Yes, those were the last words I remember saying before waking up on July 5 with a head bandage and a patriotic ringing of the ears. But what I’m talking about this morning is a Lawrence boom in single-family housing construction.

New numbers are out for home construction in Lawrence, and they show that the Lawrence home-building scene is quite a bit different from what is happening in the Kansas City market. Through July, Lawrence builders have received permits to build 105 single-family or duplex homes in 2016. That’s a good number compared with the post-recession doldrums of 2009-2012. But the number is not so good compared with last year. Thus far in 2016, single-family and duplex construction is off 30 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

What’s more interesting is what is going on in Kansas City. Single-family home construction in Kansas City actually is booming. The Home Builders Association of Greater Kansas City hasn’t yet released its July report, but through June the numbers are impressive. Single-family construction in the KC metro is up 29 percent compared with the same period a year ago. (If you are wanting to compare apples to apples, Lawrence single-family home construction at the June mark was down about 34 percent.)

Home building is an important economic activity in Lawrence, but for whatever reason it has had a hard time sustaining any momentum recently. Compare that with the Kansas City market, which is in its fifth straight year of increases for single-family home construction.

Perhaps the most interesting difference between the Lawrence and Kansas City markets has to do with apartments. The construction of apartments in Lawrence has been much more robust than single-family construction. In fact, it has become almost routine for the number of apartment units built in Lawrence to exceed the number of single-family and duplex units built in the city. That didn’t used to be the case, but now the numbers most years aren’t even close.

It is not hard to find national stories about how more Americans are choosing to live in apartments rather than single-family homes. There is a generation of Americans who don’t like the idea of owning and maintaining a property as much as their parents did. Plus, as the number of retirees rise, more of them are seeking to get away from some of the responsibilities of home ownership. But the trend is particularly pronounced in Lawrence.

Since 2009, Lawrence every single year has built more apartment units than single-family or duplex units. Contrast that to Kansas City: In the eight-county area that comprises the KC metro market, single-family home construction has exceeded apartment construction every single year.

Here are some numbers to put in perspective just how different the Lawrence market has become: From 2009 through June of 2016, about 33 percent of all new residential construction in Lawrence was single-family or duplex homes, while 67 percent was apartments or other multifamily units. During the same time period in the KC metro, 61 percent of all residential construction was single-family, while 39 percent was apartments.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying what is happening in Lawrence is bad. More apartment construction theoretically means we’re becoming a denser community, which is one of the strategies to fight urban sprawl. But since apartments are generally always rentals, it also means that the ownership of our community is becoming more concentrated too. That probably has implications.

Regardless, we long have said Lawrence should be different from Kansas City. These numbers show that’s the case. Kansas City residents are the ones with yards.

Here’s a look at other numbers from Lawrence’s July building permit report:

• Thus far in 2016, the city has issued permits for 105 single-family or duplex homes. That’s down from 152 units in 2015, but is still better than the seven-year average of 86 units.

• The city year-to-date has issued permits for 377 apartment units. That’s down from 431 units in 2015. But don’t kid yourself, this is still a very good year for apartment construction. The seven-year average is 188 units.

• The city thus far has issued permits for $126.8 million worth of construction in Lawrence. That’s down from $167.6 million at this point in 2015. But remember, 2015 went on to be a record-setting year. The seven-year average is about $78 million.