Housing starts way, way, way down
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We already know construction is way down. But in October, the number of new houses under construction (known as housing starts in developer lingo) was the lowest since the industry started keeping records. Here’s a portion of today’s press release from the California Building Industry Assn.:
“No other industry in California or the nation for that matter produces jobs like new home construction,†said Robert Rivinius, President and CEO of the California Building Industry Association. “The steady decline in new housing production which began in 2005 has cost California nearly 300,000 jobs.†According to statistics compiled by the Construction Industry Research Board, just 4,140 permits were pulled throughout California during the month of October, down 49 percent when compared to the same month a year ago and down 9 percent from September. On a seasonally adjusted basis, October’s unit total was at an annual rate of 46,300, which CIRB said was the lowest month recorded since monthly rates began being tabulated in January 1976.
The association breaks down the statistics by metropolitan areas, showing that new home construction in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area is down 67.6% over Octover of last year.
--Sharon Bernstein