Connecticut’s cities and towns OK’d another 396 homes last month, according to statistics released yesterday by the state Department of Economic and Community Development.

In total, 212 single-family, 14 two-family, 3 three-family and 167 multifamily units were permitted, a pace comparable to most months this year and more than were permitted in any month in 2019, save four.

The tally puts the state in position to surpass 2021’s permitting totals this month, if the current trend holds.

So far, 1,761 single-families, 74 units in two-families, 26 units in three-families and 1,572 units in multifamily buildings have been OK’d this year, for a total of 3,433, compared to 3,677 permitted in all of 2021.

It’s also more units than have been permitted through August in any year since 2016.

August’s permitting activity was driven by 119 units approved in New Haven, which has OK’d 441 so far this year. The next-most-prolific town were Westport, with 21 approvals in August, Milford with 13 and Ellington with 11.

The approvals came even as homebuilder confidence is slipping nationwide, according to the National Association of Home Builders, and even as the Federal Reserve continues to promise it will crank up interest rates until inflation returns to normal.