O.C. housing permits fall

Housing starts were practically nonexistent last month in Orange County, where the number of permits obtained by builders plunged 85% from a year earlier, data released Friday showed.

Plans for new housing construction declined across the state in June, according to data collected by the Burbank-based Construction Industry Research Board. Half as many permits -- 9,536 -- were issued in June for new single- and multifamily homes, compared with 19,637 a year earlier.

Production in California has been slumping for more than a year as builders have struggled to sell homes under construction while delaying new projects.

But last month, that trend appeared to be in full force, particularly in Orange County, where the number of permits fell to 225 from 1,448.

The decline there outpaced the drop in the Inland Empire and San Diego County, two of the weakest markets for new-home sales. In each of those areas, permits fell 67%, the construction board said.

“The huge decline in permits -- more pronounced than even the Inland Empire -- tells me that builders are being extremely careful about building anything speculative,” said Patrick Duffy of Los Angeles-based consulting firm Metro Intelligence.

Despite the drop in new-home building permits, Orange County lost just 100 construction-related jobs year over year in June, the state Employment Development Department said.

“The jobs are still here, but the builders are being more strategic in their business plans,” said Sarah Bruckner of the Orange County chapter of the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California. “The market is correcting itself and adjusting, and builders are following in those adjustments.”

In Los Angeles County, the number of permits issued decreased 36% last month from a year earlier, the researchers said.

annette.haddad@latimes.com