Southland Construction Loans Up 18% From 1988

While the rest of the nation is experiencing a slight decline in building activity, construction spending in Southern California so far this year has outpaced 1988 spending, according to La Jolla-based Dataquick Information Services.

In August almost $1.7 billion was made in construction loans in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. That brings this year’s total so far to $14.2 billion, 18.5% more than the $12 billion year-to-date August figure last year.

Virtually all commercial and residential building activity is financed with construction loans. Dataquick, which provides real estate data to lending institutions, title companies and industry analysts, registers each and every loan.

“While building activity could level off somewhat, the economic factors that make the Southern California real estate market unique are still in play,” said Donald L. Cohn, Dataquick president.

“People are still moving here, putting pressure on the residential and commercial markets. And a lot of investors, from other parts of the country and abroad, want to invest their money here.”

Riverside County has seen an almost explosive growth in building activity so far this year, according to Dataquick. Construction loans total $2.6 billion, 71.9% more than last year at this time.

INCREASES IN CONSTRUCTION LOANS

Construction loans in millions of dollars.

Year to date Year to date Percent 1988 1989 Change Los Angeles 4,124 4,516 9.5% Orange County 2,580 2,851 10.5 San Diego 2,315 2,750 18.8 Riverside 1,482 2,547 71.9 San Bernardino 1,459 1,513 3.6 So. Calif. 11,960 14,176 18.5