March Home Production Down from ’87

March housing production in California increased 5% from February but declined by 26% from March, 1987, according to the Burbank-based Construction Industry Research Board.

Stated as a seasonally adjusted annual rate, new units in building permits totaled 211,600 in March, up from 201,500 in February, and down from 285,000 in March of last year.

The report showed that single-family houses were produced at an annual rate of 135,800 units in the first quarter of 1988, the highest rate since the first quarter of 1987.

However, multifamily housing fell to a 76,900-unit annual rate in the first quarter. This was the lowest rate for that category since the second quarter of 1983 when the rate was 62,900.

The state’s construction volume totaled $8.7 billion in the first quarter of 1988. Not adjusted for inflation, that is down 4.4% from the same period last year. When adjusted for inflation in construction costs, the decline in total construction volume is about 9%.

Depending on the region, construction costs in the state have risen by between 4% and 5.5% since the first quarter of last year. That rate of increase is more than double the 1986 and 1987 rates.