The latest building permits statistics digested by the Business and Economic Research Center at Middle Tennessee State University show that the growth in Tennessee building permits is trailing the South's and the nation's by quite a margin — especially with the apartment pipeline growing smaller. You could interpret this statistic in two ways: Either the state's residential builders, still chastened by the recent bust, are being veritable paragons of restraint. Or the shadow inventory of property still held by our banks is large enough to put a damp rag over new construction activity. What say you?