Building permits issued in the Bay State were way up in June, surging to 1,351 from 526 in May, according to recently published figures from the U.S. Census Bureau. The numbers suggest an intriguing possibility: Developers may finally be getting off the sidelines.

“I don’t know that it’s as much confidence as it is, [people are] tired of waiting. I see a lot of people that are just pulling the trigger,” said Walter Tomala, president of the Home Builders Association of Massachusetts. “A lot of people have gone through the permitting process, and if they don’t use ‘em, they’re going to lose them.”

The figures were boosted by an increase in permitting for buildings of five or more units, which rose to 553 in June from 63 the previous month. The New Street Development, a recently permitted 224-unit development in East Boston, may have contributed substantially to that number.

But it wasn’t only large apartment building which saw an increase in permits issued: Permits for two-unit dwellings increased to 26 from 16 last month, and permits for 3 and 4 unit dwellings increased to 89 from seven in May. Permits for single-family dwellings, which generally make up a substantial majority of all permits issued, were up 55 percent, to 683 in June from 440 in May.

Compared to this time last year, total building permits were up 31.2 percent, with 4,264 issued through June 2010, compared to 3,249 through June 2009.

An Outlier

The numbers make Massachusetts an outlier. Nationwide, permits in June stood at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 586,000, 2.1 percent above the revised May rate of 574,000, but 2.3 percent below the June 2009 figure of 600,000. Housing starts fell 5 percent in June, to 549,000, their lowest level since last October, from 578,000 in May.

In Massachusetts, a push to extend permit expiration dates may help explain some of the increase in permitting. Last week, developers were hoping a proposal to extend deadlines for permits issued between 2008 and 2011 for three years would be attached to economic development plans lawmakers were tying to push through before the end of the legislative session on Saturday.

The goal of the Permit Extension Act was to give developers who may have held back from breaking ground during the rough economic climate the ability to move forward with proposals, without going through the costly and time-consuming permitting process all over again.

The fact the bill was being considered at all would make having a permit in hand even more valuable, and may have spurred some developers to move forward recently, said Rich Beal, vice-president of A.W. Perry Inc., a Boston real estate development firm.

And, Beal added, with towns desperate for more revenue sources, the approval process for his firm has been much smoother sailing than usual.

A potentially quicker process and more valuable permits may have been enough to push some developers off the fence, at least in the Bay State.

“I think there are a lot of communities that have held their value well,” said Beal. “Builders are more optimistic about it, that if they put out some spec product that there’s going to be a market for it.”

And that’s a welcome possibility.

“Overall, the big picture, we’re still a considerable amount down,” said Tomala.