Neighbors Are Getting Closer

The single-family home, that staple of the American Dream, no longer dominates construction of new housing in Orange County. In the last three years, building permits have been issued for more multifamily housing units than single-family dwellings in the county, according to the Construction Industry Research Board. For the eight previous years in the research board’s tabulation, single-family construction generally was the leader. In 1987, multifamily accounted for 61% of units for which permits were issued. Multi-family includes apartments, duplexes and certain types of condominiums. That trend is nothing new in Los Angeles County, where far more multifamily housing than single-family housing has been built since 1977. In 1987, multifamily had more than a 2-1 lead. Among state metropolitan areas, Orange County was second to Los Angeles County in multifamily permits issued in 1987. By contrast, Orange County was sixth in single-family permits.

NOTE: Single-family housing includes detached, semidetached, row house and townhouse units. Row houses and townhouses are included in single-family housing when each unit is separated from the next by an unbroken, ground-to-roof party or fire wall. Condominiums are included in single-family housing when they are of zero-lot-line or zero-property-line construction, when units are separated by airspace or when units are separated by an unbroken ground-to-roof party or fire wall. Multifamily housing includes duplexes, structures of three to four units and apartment-type structures with five units or more. Multifamily housing also includes condominium units in structures of more than one living unit that do not meet the above definition of a single-family structure.

1987 PERMITS FOR NEW HOUSING

Single-Family Units

1. Riverside/San Bernardino 28,962

2. Los Angeles/Long Beach 17,191

3. San Diego 15,743

4. Sacramento 11,121

5. Oakland 9,971

6. Orange County 9,368

7. Bakersfield 3,539

8. Vallejo/Fairfield/Napa 3,467

9. Oxnard/Ventura 3,288

10. San Jose 3,078

Multi-Family Units

1. Los Angeles/Long Beach 39,297

2. Orange County 15,330

3. San Diego 15,177

4. Riverside/San Bernardino 10,669

5. Oakland 7,788

6. Sacramento 5,852

7. San Jose 4,558

8. San Francisco 4,466

9. Fresno 2,033

10. Bakersfield 1,426

Metropolitan areas consist of one or more counties. Source: Construction Industry Research Board

DR, LEAVETT BILES / Los Angeles Times