Building Permits drop in Lee County and Cape Coral.

The number of permits issued in October for single-family homes dropped sharply in both Cape Coral and Lee County.According to a report issued this morning, there were 861 permits issued by Lee County, which also includes permits in Fort Myers Beach and Bonita Springs — those two municipalities contract their permitting work to the county.That’s down from 1,181 in September but still more than the 641 issued in October 2004.Still, the county remains at a record pace for construction overall with $4 billion permitted in the first 10 months of this year. In all of 2004, only $3 billion worth of work was permitted.In Cape Coral, 464 permits were issued in October compared to the all-time high of 765 in September. There were 573 permits issued in the Cape in October 2004.October statistics were not yet available for the city of Fort Myers.