VALUES ON THE RISE

The value of all residential building permits issued in Orange County during the first seven months of this year was 18% higher than for the comparable period last year. Throughout the county, though, there was some unevenness. For example, these valuations acutally decreased for several cities, most notably Stanton and Irvine. On the other hand, there were spectacular increases, led by Villa Park. Following are the values of residential building permits issued through July 1988, compared to the same period in 1987. These valuations include alterations and additions, and are stated in thousands:

1987 1988 1987-’88 City Value Value % Change Anaheim $73,087 $95,713 +31 Brea 27,751 11,331 -59 Buena Park 7,000 8,899 +27 Costa Mesa 36,509 35,357 -3 Cypress 2,964 3,989 +35 Fountain Valley 2,722 8,508 +213 Fullerton 18,602 12,423 -33 Garden Grove 17,216 12,503 -27 Huntington Beach 48,074 68,959 +43 Irvine 91,039 21,984 -76 Laguna Beach 30,010 14,017 -53 La Habra 1,814 5,032 +177 La Palma 2,259 6,594 +192 Los Alamitos 2,002 4,302 +115 Newport Beach 49,025 41,168 -16 Orange 83,050 27,545 -67 Placentia 11,068 3,392 -69 San Clemente 30,673 99,196 +233 San Juan Capistrano 17,060 11,368 -33 Santa Ana 73,982 25,773 -65 Seal Beach 6,134 4,775 -22 Stanton 5,306 843 -84 Tustin 35,092 73,015 +108 Villa Park 1,301 7,735 +495 Westminster 6,056 8,473 +40 Yorba Linda 56,535 113,253 +100 Unincorporated areas 525,297 761,769 +45 COUNTY TOTAL 1,261,628 1,487,916 +18

Source: Construction Industry Research Board

PERMIT VALUES DECLINE The value os residential building permits issued in July dropped dramatically after a more or less steady monthly increase since the beginning of the year. Despite the 71% drop between July and June, 1988’s year-to-date (January through July) residential valuations are still nearly a quarter of a million dollars ahead of 1987.