CLIPBOARD : Multifamily Home Futures
If there is a ray of light in what has turned into a miserable year for home builders, it is the action in multifamily homes--condos, apartments and the like.
Although August (the most recent month for which information is available) saw the fewest such permits issued in any single month this year, 373, the eight-month total remains higher than the comparable figure for 1989, by 14%. The 1988 and 1989 numbers through eight months, though, rank significantly lower than the three years before.
This year’s increased activity has taken place primarily in the county’s unincorporated areas as well as the cities of Irvine, Orange, Tustin and Garden Grove. Anaheim, Mission Viejo and Fullerton have seen the largest declines in the number of such permits issued this year.
Here’s how the cities stack up, listed from the largest increase to the largest decrease in permits issued during the first eight months:
Jan.-Aug. Jan.-Aug. 1989-’90 City 1989 1990 Difference Unincorporated areas 2,390 3,499 +1,109 Irvine 171 903 +732 Orange 68 382 +314 Tustin 111 379 +268 Garden Grove 108 280 +172 Costa Mesa 17 79 +62 Cypress 20 80 +60 Dana Point * 16 67 +51 Brea 17 57 +40 Westminster 28 59 +31 Los Alamitos 5 14 +9 Stanton 12 14 +2 Fountain Valley 0 0 No change La Palma 0 0 No change Seal Beach 0 0 No change Villa Park 0 0 No change Yorba Linda 0 0 No change Laguna Beach 2 0 -2 San Juan Capistrano 4 0 -4 La Habra 20 6 -14 Placentia 35 0 -35 Buena Park 139 73 -66 San Clemente 151 16 -135 Santa Ana 161 34 -127 Newport Beach 180 49 -131 Huntington Beach 250 85 -165 Fullerton 382 95 -287 Mission Viejo 361 0 -361 Anaheim 1,022 298 -724 COUNTY TOTAL 5,670 6,469 +799
*New city for 1989 tabulations; 1989 data before June is included in “unincorporated areas” total.
N/C: No change
FIVE-YEAR TREND 1986: 10,566 1987: 12,196 1988: 8,437 1989: 5,670 1990: 6,469 Source: Construction Industry Research Board
