Another good month of permit activity reflects optimism and growth. The total of the four-county area for May is 804. Last May, the total was 498. A month-to-month comparison reveals a slight drop in Clay (10 fewer permits) and Nassau (seven fewer) from April, but it was more than offset by increases in Duval (46 more) and St. Johns (34 more). The year-to-date total in 2015 was 2,434. This year at the end of May the total is 3,513.